Using Integers With Dictionary To Create Text Menu (switch/case Alternative)

I am working my way through the book Core Python Programming. Exercise 2_11 instructed to build a menu system that had allowed users to select and option which would run an earlier

Solution 1:

I finally found a solution to the problem of sorting a dictionary and printing the function names as a string. In the last part of the edited question (3rd code section), I had the fixed code for the question that started this post: how to use integers in a dictionary to create a menu - with the intention of creating a switch/case style alternative and avoiding the ugly if/elif/else problems in the first code section.

Here's the final version of the working code:

import os

defmenu_system():
    os.startfile("cpp2_11alt.py")
defloopCount_zero_to_ten():
    os.startfile("cpp2_5b.py")
defpositive_or_negative():
    os.startfile("cpp2_6.py")
defprint_a_string_one_character_at_a_time():
    os.startfile("cpp2_7.py")
defsum_of_a_tuples_values():
    os.startfile("cpp2_8.py")
defrefresh_the_menu():       
    for x in range(4): print(" ")
    for key in sorted(actions):
        print (key, '=>', actions[key].__name__)
    for z in range(2): print(" ")
defexit_the_program():
    quit()
deferrhandler():    
    print("not sure what you want")

actions = {'1':menu_system,
    '2':loopCount_zero_to_ten, 
    '3':positive_or_negative, 
    '4':print_a_string_one_character_at_a_time, 
    '5':sum_of_a_tuples_values, 
    'x':exit_the_program, 
    'm':refresh_the_menu}

for key in sorted(actions):
    print (key, '=>', actions[key].__name__)

selectedaction = input("please select an option from the list:    ")
whileTrue:
    actions.get(selectedaction,errhandler)()
    selectedaction = input("please select an option from the list:    ")
quit()

adding the .__name__ method allowed me to print the function names as a string.

Using the for loop:

for key insorted(actions):
        print (key, '=>', actions[key].__name__)

created the ability to sort the dictionary.