Beginner's Python

Adding elements Sorting a list

Cheat Sheet - Lists existing lists, or start with an empty list and then add items to
it as the program develops.
Adding an element to the end of the list
original list unchanged.
You can sort the items in a list in alphabetical order, or
reverse alphabetical order. You can also reverse the original
order of the list. Keep in mind that lowercase and uppercase
What are lists? users.append('amy') letters may affect the sort order.
A list stores a series of items in a particular order. Lists Starting with an empty list Sorting a list permanently
allow you to store sets of information in one place, users = [] users.sort()
whether you have just a few items or millions of items. users.append('amy')
Lists are one of Python's most powerful features users.append('val') Sorting a list permanently in reverse alphabetical order
readily accessible to new programmers, and they tie users.append('bob') users.sort(reverse=True)
together many important concepts in programming. users.append('mia')
Sorting a list temporarily
Inserting elements at a particular position
Defining a list print(sorted(users))
users.insert(0, 'joe') print(sorted(users, reverse=True))
Use square brackets to define a list, and use commas to users.insert(3, 'bea')
separate individual items in the list. Use plural names for Reversing the order of a list
lists, to make it clear that the variable represents more than
one item. Removing elements users.reverse()
You can remove elements by their position in a list, or by the
Making a list value of the item. If you remove an item by its value, Python Looping through a list
users = ['val', 'bob', 'mia', 'ron', 'ned'] removes only the first item that has that value. Lists can contain millions of items, so Python provides an
Deleting an element by its position efficient way to loop through all the items in a list. When
Accessing elements you set up a loop, Python pulls each item from the list one
del users[-1] at a time and assigns it to a temporary variable, which
Individual elements in a list are accessed according to their
position, called the index. The index of the first element is 0, Removing an item by its value you provide a name for. This name should be the singular
the index of the second element is 1, and so forth. Negative version of the list name.
users.remove('mia') The indented block of code makes up the body of the
indices refer to items at the end of the list. To get a particular
element, write the name of the list and then the index of the loop, where you can work with each individual item. Any
element in square brackets. Popping elements lines that are not indented run after the loop is completed.
If you want to work with an element that you're removing Printing all items in a list
Getting the first element from the list, you can "pop" the item. If you think of the list as
first_user = users[0] a stack of items, pop() takes an item off the top of the stack. for user in users:
By default pop() returns the last element in the list, but print(user)
Getting the second element you can also pop elements from any position in the list. Printing a message for each item, and a separate
second_user = users[1] message afterwards
Pop the last item from a list
Getting the last elements most_recent_user = users.pop() for user in users:
newest_user = users[-1] print(most_recent_user) print(f"\nWelcome, {user}!")
print("We're so glad you joined!")
Pop the first item in a list
Modifying individual items first_user = users.pop(0) print("\nWelcome, we're glad to see you all!")
Once you've defined a list, you can change the value of print(first_user)
individual elements in the list. You do this by referring to the
index of the item you want to modify.
List length
Changing an element The len() function returns the number of items in a list. Python Crash Course
users[0] = 'valerie' A Hands-on, Project-Based
Find the length of a list
users[1] = 'robert' Introduction to Programming
users[-2] = 'ronald' num_users = len(users)
print(f"We have {num_users} users.") nostarch.com/pythoncrashcourse2e
The range() function Copying a list Tuples
You can use the range() function to work with a set of To copy a list make a slice that starts at the first item and A tuple is like a list, except you can't change the values
numbers efficiently. The range() function starts at 0 by ends at the last item. If you try to copy a list without using in a tuple once it's defined. Tuples are good for storing
default, and stops one number below the number passed to this approach, whatever you do to the copied list will affect information that shouldn't be changed throughout the life of a
it. You can use the list() function to efficiently generate a the original list as well. program. Tuples are usually designated by parentheses.
large list of numbers. You can overwrite an entire tuple, but you can't change
Making a copy of a list
the values of individual elements.
Printing the numbers 0 to 1000 finishers = ['kai', 'abe', 'ada', 'gus', 'zoe']
for number in range(1001): copy_of_finishers = finishers[:] Defining a tuple
print(number) dimensions = (800, 600)
Printing the numbers 1 to 1000 List comprehensions Looping through a tuple
You can use a loop to generate a list based on a range of
for number in range(1, 1001): for dimension in dimensions:
numbers or on another list. This is a common operation,
print(number) print(dimension)
so Python offers a more efficient way to do it. List
Making a list of numbers from 1 to a million comprehensions may look complicated at first; if so, use Overwriting a tuple
the for loop approach until you're ready to start using
numbers = list(range(1, 1000001)) dimensions = (800, 600)
comprehensions.
print(dimensions)
To write a comprehension, define an expression for the
Simple statistics values you want to store in the list. Then write a for loop to dimensions = (1200, 900)
There are a number of simple statistical operations you can generate input values needed to make the list. print(dimensions)
run on a list containing numerical data.
Using a loop to generate a list of square numbers
Finding the minimum value in a list squares = [] Visualizing your code
ages = [93, 99, 66, 17, 85, 1, 35, 82, 2, 77] for x in range(1, 11): When you're first learning about data structures such as
youngest = min(ages) square = x**2 lists, it helps to visualize how Python is working with the
squares.append(square) information in your program. Python Tutor is a great tool for
Finding the maximum value seeing how Python keeps track of the information in a list.
Using a comprehension to generate a list of square
ages = [93, 99, 66, 17, 85, 1, 35, 82, 2, 77] Try running the following code on pythontutor.com, and then
oldest = max(ages) numbers run your own code.
squares = [x**2 for x in range(1, 11)]
Finding the sum of all values Build a list and print the items in the list
ages = [93, 99, 66, 17, 85, 1, 35, 82, 2, 77] Using a loop to convert a list of names to upper case dogs = []
total_years = sum(ages) names = ['kai', 'abe', 'ada', 'gus', 'zoe'] dogs.append('willie')
dogs.append('hootz')
Slicing a list upper_names = [] dogs.append('peso')
for name in names: dogs.append('goblin')
You can work with any subset of elements from a list. A
upper_names.append(name.upper())
portion of a list is called a slice. To slice a list start with the for dog in dogs:
index of the first item you want, then add a colon and the Using a comprehension to convert a list of names to print(f"Hello {dog}!")
index after the last item you want. Leave off the first index upper case print("I love these dogs!")
to start at the beginning of the list, and leave off the second
index to slice through the end of the list. names = ['kai', 'abe', 'ada', 'gus', 'zoe']
print("\nThese were my first two dogs:")
old_dogs = dogs[:2]
Getting the first three items upper_names = [name.upper() for name in names]
for old_dog in old_dogs:
finishers = ['kai', 'abe', 'ada', 'gus', 'zoe'] print(old_dog)
first_three = finishers[:3] Styling your code
Readability counts del dogs[0]
Getting the middle three items dogs.remove('peso')
middle_three = finishers[1:4] Follow common Python formatting conventions: print(dogs)
•  Use four spaces per indentation level.
Getting the last three items •  Keep your lines to 79 characters or fewer.
last_three = finishers[-3:] •  Use single blank lines to group parts of your
program visually. More cheat sheets available at
ehmatthes.github.io/pcc_2e/