Python Programming

Md Nagrul Islam
Lecturer
Department of Computer Science and Mathematics
Mymensingh Engineering College, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Contents.

Python Lists
 Python List

List
Lists are used to store multiple items in a single
variable.

Lists are one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to

store collections of data, the other 3 are Tuple, Set,
and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.
Lists are created using square brackets:

Example
Create a List:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(thislist)
 Python List

List Items
List items are ordered, changeable, and allow duplicate
values.
List items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the
second item has index [1] etc.
Ordered
When we say that lists are ordered, it means that the
items have a defined order, and that order will not
change.
If you add new items to a list, the new items will be
placed at the end of the list.
Note: There are some list methods that will change the
order, but in general: the order of the items will not
change.
 Python List

Changeable
The list is changeable, meaning that we can change, add, and
remove items in a list after it has been created.

Allow Duplicates
Since lists are indexed, lists can have items with the same
value:

Example
Lists allow duplicate values:
thislist =
["apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple", "cherry"]
print(thislist)
 Python List

List Length
To determine how many items a list has use
the len() function:

Example
Print the number of items in the list:
thislist =
["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(len(thislist))
 Python List
List Items - Data Types
List items can be of any data type:
Example
String, int and boolean data types:
list1 = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
list2 = [1, 5, 7, 9, 3]
list3 = [True, False, False]

Example
A list with strings, integers and boolean values:
list1 = ["abc", 34, True, 40, "male"]ry it
Yourse
 Python List
Python Collections (Arrays)
There are four collection data types in the Python programming
language:

• List is a collection which is ordered and changeable. Allows

duplicate members.
• Tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. Allows
duplicate members.
• Set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable* and
unindexed. No duplicate members.
• Dictionary is a collection which is ordered** and changeable. No
duplicate members.
*Set items are unchangeable, but you can remove and/or add items
whenever you like.

**As of Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered. In Python 3.6

and earlier, dictionaries are unordered.
 Python - Access List Items

Access Items
List items are indexed and you can access them by referring to
the index number:
Example
Print the second item of the list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(thislist[1])
Negative Indexing
Negative indexing means start from the end
-1 refers to the last item, -2 refers to the second last item etc.
Example
Print the last item of the list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(thislist[-1])
 Python - Access List Items

Range of Negative Indexes

Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the
list:
Example
This example returns the items from "orange" (-4) to, but NOT including
"mango" (-1):
thislist =
["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]
print(thislist[-4:-1])

Check if Item Exists

To determine if a specified item is present in a list use the in keyword:
Example
Check if "apple" is present in the list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
if "apple" in thislist:
print("Yes, 'apple' is in the fruits list")
 Python - Change List Items
Change Item Value
To change the value of a specific item, refer to the index number:
Example
Change the second item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1] = "blackcurrant"
print(thislist)

Change a Range of Item Values

To change the value of items within a specific range, define a list with the new
values, and refer to the range of index numbers where you want to insert the
new values:
Example
Change the values "banana" and "cherry" with the values "blackcurrant" and
"watermelon":
thislist =
["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "mango"]
thislist[1:3] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)
 Python - Change List Items
If you insert more items than you replace, the new items will be inserted
where you specified, and the remaining items will move accordingly:
Example
Change the second value by replacing it with two new values:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1:2] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)

Note: The length of the list will change when the number of items inserted
does not match the number of items replaced.

If you insert less items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where
you specified, and the remaining items will move accordingly:
Example
Change the second and third value by replacing it with one value:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1:3] = ["watermelon"]
print(thislist)
 Python - Add List Items

Insert Items
To insert a new list item, without replacing any of the existing values,
we can use the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:
Example
Insert "watermelon" as the third item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.insert(2, "watermelon")
print(thislist) it Yourself »
Append Items
To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:
Example
Using the append() method to append an item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.append("orange")
print(thislist)
 Python - Add List Items

Extend List
To append elements from another list to the current list, use
the extend() method.
Example
Add the elements of tropical to thislist:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
tropical = ["mango", "pineapple", "papaya"]
thislist.extend(tropical)
print(thislist)
Add Any Iterable
The extend() method does not have to append lists, you can add any iterable
object (tuples, sets, dictionaries etc.).
Example
Add elements of a tuple to a list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thistuple = ("kiwi", "orange")
thislist.extend(thistuple)
print(thislist)
 Python - Remove List Items
Remove Specified Item
The remove() method removes the specified item.
Example
Remove "banana":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.remove("banana")
print(thislist)

Remove Specified Index

The pop() method removes the specified index.
Example
Remove the second item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.pop(1)
print(thislist)
 Python - Remove List Items
If you do not specify the index, the pop() method removes the last
item.
Example
Remove the last item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.pop()
print(thislist)

The del keyword also removes the specified index:

Example
Remove the first item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
del thislist[0]
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
 Python - Remove List Items
The del keyword can also delete the list completely.
Example
Delete the entire list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
del thislist

Clear the List

The clear() method empties the list.
The list still remains, but it has no content.
Example
Clear the list content:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.clear()
print(thislist)
 Python - Loop Lists
Loop Through a List
You can loop through the list items by using a for loop:
Example
Print all items in the list, one by one:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for x in thislist:
print(x)
Loop Through the Index Numbers
You can also loop through the list items by referring to their index
number.
Use the range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.
Example
Print all items by referring to their index number:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for i in range(len(thislist)):
print(thislist[i])
 Python - Loop Lists
Using a While Loop
You can loop through the list items by using a while loop.
Use the len() function to determine the length of the list, then
start at 0 and loop your way through the list items by referring
to their indexes.
Remember to increase the index by 1 after each iteration.
Example
Print all items, using a while loop to go through all the index
numbers
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
i = 0
while i < len(thislist):
print(thislist[i])
i = i + 1
 Python - Loop Lists

Looping Using List Comprehension

List Comprehension offers the shortest syntax for looping
through lists:
Example
A short hand for loop that will print all items in a list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[print(x) for x in thislist]
Try it Yourself »
 List Comprehension
List comprehension offers a shorter syntax when you want to create a
new list based on the values of an existing list.
Example:
Based on a list of fruits, you want a new list, containing only the fruits
with the letter "a" in the name.
Without list comprehension you will have to write a for statement with
a conditional test inside:
Example
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "kiwi", "mango"]
newlist = []

for x in fruits:
if "a" in x:
newlist.append(x)

print(newlist)
 List Comprehension
With list comprehension you can do all that with
only one line of code:
Example
fruits =
["apple", "banana", "cherry", "kiwi", "mango
"]

newlist = [x for x in fruits if "a" in x]

print(newlist)
 Python - Sort Lists
Sort List Alphanumerically
List objects have a sort() method that will sort the list
alphanumerically, ascending, by default:
Example
Sort the list alphabetically:
thislist =
["orange", "mango", "kiwi", "pineapple", "banana"]
thislist.sort()
print(thislist)
Example
Sort the list numerically:
thislist = [100, 50, 65, 82, 23]
thislist.sort()
print(thislist)
 Python - Sort Lists
Sort Descending
To sort descending, use the keyword argument reverse = True:

Example
Sort the list descending:
thislist =
["orange", "mango", "kiwi", "pineapple", "banana"]
thislist.sort(reverse = True)
print(thislist)

Example
Sort the list descending:
thislist = [100, 50, 65, 82, 23]
thislist.sort(reverse = True)
print(thislist)
 Python - Copy Lists

Copy a List
You cannot copy a list simply by typing list2 = list1, because: list2 will only be
a reference to list1, and changes made in list1 will automatically also be made
in list2.
There are ways to make a copy, one way is to use the built-in List
method copy().
Example
Make a copy of a list with the copy() method:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
mylist = thislist.copy()
print(mylist)
Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in method list().
Example
Make a copy of a list with the list() method:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
mylist = list(thislist)
print(mylist)
 Python - Join Lists
Join Two Lists
There are several ways to join, or concatenate, two or more lists in Python.
One of the easiest ways are by using the + operator.
Example
Join two list:
list1 = ["a", "b", "c"]
list2 = [1, 2, 3]
list3 = list1 + list2
print(list3)
Another way to join two lists is by appending all the items from list2 into list1, one by
one:
Example
Append list2 into list1:
list1 = ["a", "b" , "c"]
list2 = [1, 2, 3]

for x in list2:
list1.append(x)
print(list1)
 Python - List Methods
List Methods
Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on lists.

Method Description
append() Adds an element at the end of the list
clear() Removes all the elements from the list
copy() Returns a copy of the list
count() Returns the number of elements with the specified
value
extend() Add the elements of a list (or any iterable), to the end
of the current list
index() Returns the index of the first element with the specified
value
insert() Adds an element at the specified position
pop() Removes the element at the specified position
remove() Removes the item with the specified value
reverse() Reverses the order of the list
sort() Sorts the list