Combine values in python list of dictionaries. code example

Example 1: merge a list of dictionaries python

>>> from collections import ChainMap
>>> a = [{'a':1},{'b':2},{'c':1},{'d':2}]
>>> dict(ChainMap(*a))
{'b': 2, 'c': 1, 'a': 1, 'd': 2}

Example 2: python merge dictionaries

dict1 = {'color': 'blue', 'shape': 'square'}
dict2 = {'color': 'red', 'edges': 4}

dict1.update(dict2) #if a key exists in both, it takes the value of the second dict
# dict1 = {'color': 'red', 'shape': 'square', 'edges': 4}
# dict2 is left unchanged