Lists vs Tuples in Python :

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September 04, 2024
Lists vs Tuples in Python
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In Python, lists and tuples are versatile and useful data types that allow you to store data in a sequence. You’ll find them in virtually every nontrivial Python program. Learning about them is a core skill for you as a Python developer.

In this tutorial, you’ll:

  • Get to know lists and tuples
  • Explore the core characteristics of lists and tuples
  • Learn how to define and manipulate lists and tuples
  • Decide when to use lists or tuples in your code

To get the most out of this tutorial, you should know the basics of Python programming, including how to define variables.

Take the Quiz: Test your knowledge with our interactive “Lists vs Tuples in Python” quiz. You’ll receive a score upon completion to help you track your learning progress:

Lists vs Tuples in Python

Interactive Quiz

Lists vs Tuples in Python

Challenge yourself with this quiz to evaluate and deepen your understanding of Python lists and tuples. You'll explore key concepts, such as how to create, access, and manipulate these data types, while also learning best practices for using them efficiently in your code.

Getting Started With Python Lists and Tuples

In Python, a list is a collection of arbitrary objects, somewhat akin to an array in many other programming languages but more flexible. To define a list, you typically enclose a comma-separated sequence of objects in square brackets ([]), as shown below:

Python 
>>> colors = ["red", "green", "blue", "yellow"]

>>> colors
['red', 'green', 'blue', 'yellow']

In this code snippet, you define a list of colors using string objects separated by commas and enclose them in square brackets.

Similarly, tuples are also collections of arbitrary objects. To define a tuple, you’ll enclose a comma-separated sequence of objects in parentheses (()), as shown below:

Python 
>>> person = ("Jane Doe", 25, "Python Developer", "Canada")

>>> person
('Jane Doe', 25, 'Python Developer', 'Canada')

In this example, you define a tuple with data for a given person, including their name, age, job, and base country.

Up to this point, it may seem that lists and tuples are mostly the same. However, there’s an important difference:

Feature List Tuple
Is an ordered sequence ✅ ✅
Can contain arbitrary objects ✅ ✅
Can be indexed and sliced ✅ ✅
Can be nested ✅ ✅
Is mutable ✅ ❌

Both lists and tuples are sequence data types, which means they can contain objects arranged in order. You can access those objects using an integer index that represents their position in the sequence.

Even though both data types can contain arbitrary and heterogeneous objects, you’ll commonly use lists to store homogeneous objects and tuples to store heterogeneous objects.

You can perform indexing and slicing operations on both lists and tuples. You can also have nested lists and nested tuples or a combination of them, like a list of tuples.

The most notable difference between lists and tuples is that lists are mutable, while tuples are immutable. This feature distinguishes them and drives their specific use cases.

Essentially, a list doesn’t have a fixed length since it’s immutable. Therefore, it’s natural to use homogeneous elements to have some structure in the list. A tuple, on the other hand, has a fixed length so the position of elements can have meaning, supporting heterogeneous data.

Creating Lists in Python

In many situations, you’ll define a list object using a literal. A list literal is a comma-separated sequence of objects enclosed in square brackets:

Python 
>>> countries = ["United States", "Canada", "Poland", "Germany", "Austria"]

>>> countries
['United States', 'Canada', 'Poland', 'Germany', 'Austria']

In this example, you create a list of countries represented by string objects. Because lists are ordered sequences, the values retain the insertion order.

Read the full article at https://realpython.com/python-lists-tuples/ »

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September 04, 2024 at 07:30PM
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