what is the dict class used for
<p>Can someone explain what the <code>dict</code> class is used for? This snippet is from <em>Dive Into Python</em></p>

<pre><code>class FileInfo(dict):                  
    "store file metadata"
    def __init__(self, filename=None): 
        self["name"] = filename
</code></pre>

<p>I understand the assignment of key=value pairs with <code>self['name'] = filename</code> but what does inheriting the <code>dict</code> class have to do with this? Please help me understand.</p>
