How to Properly Loop Through a Python Dictionary Result from AWS Config for Multiple Violations

Learn how to effectively loop through a dictionary returned by AWS Config in Python to extract multiple ARNs without encountering errors or duplications.
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How to Properly Loop Through a Python Dictionary Result from AWS Config for Multiple Violations

When working with Python, especially in the realm of AWS services like AWS Config, you might face challenges—one common problem is looping through a dictionary to retrieve data without getting repeated values or running into index errors. This can be particularly frustrating if you're still getting the hang of Python programming.

In this guide, we'll walk through a common issue encountered when accessing the output of AWS Config evaluations and how to solve it effectively.

The Problem at Hand

You may find yourself working with a result from AWS Config that looks somewhat like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

When looping through the EvaluationResults, if your code incorrectly specifies a fixed index (like [0]), it will only retrieve the first ARN repeatedly. Removing the index might lead to errors, such as “list indices must be integers or slices, not str.”

Common Mistake

Here is how you might have originally attempted to loop through the configuration:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This code has a couple of issues:

It uses configRule.items() which is not necessary as you're only interested in the EvaluationResults list.

Fixing the index will get you a list of errors.

The Solution

To correctly navigate and retrieve the different ARNs from the AWS Config results, you want to loop directly through the EvaluationResults. Here’s how to do it:

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Access the EvaluationResults List: Rather than looping through configRule.items(), focus on the EvaluationResults key directly.

Iterate Through Each Result: For each entry in the EvaluationResults, retrieve the ResourceId effectively.

Here's how you can set it up in your code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Code

for arn in configRule['EvaluationResults']: - This line goes through each violation in the EvaluationResults list.

acmArn = arn['EvaluationResultIdentifier']['EvaluationResultQualifier']['ResourceId'] - This extracts the ResourceId for each violation, ensuring you get the correct ARN per entry.

print(acmArn) - This will output each ARN, showing that the loop works as intended.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can efficiently loop through AWS Config results without running into common pitfalls. The key takeaway is to directly access and iterate over the list of evaluations instead of trying to manage dictionary items or forcing a static index. This approach not only simplifies your code but also enhances its reliability and readability—ideal for developers at any level, especially for those new to Python!

Feel free to reach out with any questions or additional tips you may have as you navigate the world of Python and AWS!