Custom Dictionary in Python

So, I’ve been diving into Python and got super excited about dictionaries! They’re like these cool data structures that let you store key-value pairs. But you know what? I wanted to take it up a notch and make my own version of a dictionary that keeps all the stuff we love but adds some cool features!

One idea I had was to override methods like __getitem__ and __setitem__ to log when I access or change the data. Like, every time I grab a value, I want a message to pop up in the console saying, “Hey, look at this!” This way, I can keep track of my magic data without messing with what makes dictionaries so handy in the first place.

Here’s the rough sketch of how I think it should look:

class CustomDict(dict):
    def __getitem__(self, key):
        print(f'Getting item: {key}')
        return super().__getitem__(key)

    def __setitem__(self, key, value):
        print(f'Setting item: {key} to {value}')
        super().__setitem__(key, value)

    def __delitem__(self, key):
        print(f'Deleting item: {key}')
        super().__delitem__(key)

I’m wondering though, what about other methods like keys(), values(), and items()? Should I override those too? If I just leave them as they are, will it break anything? I mean, I kinda want to add some methods that might be specific to my app. But still, I want to keep it simple and not create unnecessary complexity.

Anyone had this coding adventure before? What were some good practices to follow when doing something like this? Are there stuff I should totally avoid? I’d love to get your tips, code snippets, or even links to resources that helped you. The goal is to make this custom dictionary solid because it’s gonna be a big part of my project!

Oh! And if you have any sneaky ideas on how to add cool functionalities while keeping performance smooth, hit me up! I’m all ears!