[Python] Why doesn't a python dict.update() return the object?

I have this code:

award_dict = {
"url": "http://facebook.com",
"imageurl": "http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3939267074_feb9eb19b1_o.png",
"count": 1,
}

def award(name, count, points, desc_string, my_size, parent):
if my_size > count:
a = {
"name": name,
"description": desc_string % count,
"points": points,
"parent_award": parent,
}
a.update(award_dict)
return self.add_award(a, siteAlias, alias).award


But the code felt rather cumbersome. I would have preferred to be able to write:

def award(name, count, points, desc_string, my_size, parent):
if my_size > count:
return self.add_award({
"name": name,
"description": desc_string % count,
"points": points,
"parent_award": parent,
}.update(award_dict), siteAlias, alias).award


Why doesn't the update method return the original dictionary, so as to allow chaining, like how it works in JQuery? Why isn't it acceptable in python?


See How do I merge two dictionaries in a single expression in Python? for workarounds.

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