Attribute types (S, N, B, BOOL, L, M) in DynamoDB - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Working with DynamoDB Attribute Types

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple inventory system using DynamoDB. Each item in the inventory has different types of attributes like strings, numbers, booleans, lists, and maps.

🎯 Goal: Create a DynamoDB item using various attribute types: S (string), N (number), B (binary), BOOL (boolean), L (list), and M (map).

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a DynamoDB item dictionary named item with specific attributes.

Add a configuration variable binary_data to hold binary content.

Use the correct DynamoDB attribute types for each attribute in item.

Complete the item with all required attributes using the correct DynamoDB data types.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

DynamoDB is widely used for fast, scalable NoSQL databases in web and mobile applications. Understanding attribute types is essential for storing and retrieving data correctly.

💼 Career

Many cloud and backend developer roles require working with DynamoDB or similar NoSQL databases. Knowing how to structure data with correct attribute types is a key skill.

1

Create the initial DynamoDB item with string and number attributes

Create a dictionary called item with two attributes: "ProductName" as a string with value "Coffee Mug" and "Price" as a number with value 12.99. Use DynamoDB attribute types S for string and N for number.

DynamoDB

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Remember, DynamoDB numbers are stored as strings inside the N attribute.

2

Add a binary attribute configuration

Create a variable called binary_data and assign it the byte string b'\x01\x02\x03' to represent binary data.

DynamoDB

item = {
    "ProductName": {"S": "Coffee Mug"},
    "Price": {"N": "12.99"}
}
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use the b'' syntax to create a byte string in Python.

3

Add boolean, binary, list, and map attributes to the item

Add these attributes to the item dictionary: "InStock" as a boolean True using BOOL, "Image" as binary using B with the variable binary_data, "Tags" as a list L containing two strings "Ceramic" and "Kitchen", and "Dimensions" as a map M with keys "Height" and "Width" having number values 4 and 3 respectively.

DynamoDB

item = {
    "ProductName": {"S": "Coffee Mug"},
    "Price": {"N": "12.99"}
}
binary_data = b'\x01\x02\x03'
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Lists use L with a list of attribute dictionaries. Maps use M with a dictionary of attribute dictionaries.

4

Complete the DynamoDB item with all attributes

Ensure the item dictionary includes all attributes: ProductName (string), Price (number), InStock (boolean), Image (binary), Tags (list of strings), and Dimensions (map with height and width numbers). The variable binary_data should be defined as b'\x01\x02\x03'.

DynamoDB

item = {
    "ProductName": {"S": "Coffee Mug"},
    "Price": {"N": "12.99"},
    "InStock": {"BOOL": True},
    "Image": {"B": binary_data},
    "Tags": {"L": [{"S": "Ceramic"}, {"S": "Kitchen"}]},
    "Dimensions": {"M": {
        "Height": {"N": "4"},
        "Width": {"N": "3"}
    }}
}
binary_data = b'\x01\x02\x03'
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Review all attribute types and ensure the dictionary is complete and correctly formatted.