Serialization of Python objects using the shelve module

As you remember, the pickle module is used for serializing objects as a single byte stream. Both serializing and deserializing parties must abide by the order of all the elements placed into a file or database, or sent via a network.

There is another handy module, called shelve, that is built on top of pickle, and implements a serialization dictionary where objects are pickled and associated with a key. The keys must be ordinary strings, because the underlying database (dbm) requires strings.

Therefore, you can open your shelved data file and access your pickled objects via the keys the way you do when you access Python dictionaries. This could be more convenient for you when you’re serializing many objects.

Sound familiar? An analogy to the rack with shelves in the pantry is a correct one. Looks delicious, doesn’t it?