Python Lists
Python Lists
Python List is an ordered collection of elements and you can store objects of any datatype in the list.
As Python List is an ordered collection, you can access the elements using index (position of the element in the
element). Like in other programming languages like Java, C, C++, etc, the index starts from 0 until the
number of items in the list.
Python List
elements 2 5 8 11 14 17
index 0 1 2 3 4 5
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Create an Empty List
To create an empty list in Python, use list() constructor.
aList = list()
Or you can also use empty square brackets as shown below.
aList = []
Initialize a List in Python
To initialize a list in Python, assign comma separated elements, enclosed in squared bracket to a variable.
aList = [21, 'John', 541, 84.25, True]
In addition, let us find out datatype of the variable aList programmatically using type() function.
Python Program
aList = [21, 'John', 541, 84.25, True]
print(type(aList))
Run the program, and Python interpreter shall print the datatype of aList to standard output.
Output
<class 'list'>
Python List – Access Elements
To access elements of a list in Python, use variable name followed by square brackets, and the index inside the
square brackets. An example is provided below.
element = aList[index]
We already know that index starts from 0 . Therefore, aList[0] fetches first element of the list and aList[5]
fetches 6th element in the list.
Python Program
aList = [21, 'John', 541, 84.25, True]
element = aList[2]
print(element)
element = aList[4]
print(element)
Output
541
True
aList[2] returns third element of the list and aList[4] returns fifth element of the list.
Modify List Element
You can change the value of element at a given index by assigning the value to the element using index.
aList[index] = new_value
In the following program, we shall modify the element present at the index 2.
Python Program
aList = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'orange', 'papaya']
aList[2] = 'mango'
for element in aList:
print(element)
Output
apple
banana
mango
orange
papaya
Is given element is present in List
To check if given element is present in the Python list, you can use in keyword. The syntax to check if element
is in list is
element in aList
The above expression returns a boolean value. True if element is present in the list and false if not.
Python Program
aList = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'orange', 'papaya']
element = 'banana'
if element in aList:
print('The element is present in list.')
else:
print('The element is not present in list.')
Output
The element is present in list.
Python List Length
You can use len() function to get the length of the list. Pass the list as argument to len() builtin function, and it
returns an integer.
Python Program
aList = [21, 541, 84.25]
print(len(aList))
Output
Append Element to Python List
list.append() function appends element to the end of the list.
Python Program
aList = [21, 53, 84]
aList.append(96)
print(aList)
Output
Insert Element in Python List
list.insert(index, element) method inserts the element at specified index of the list. The index of elements that
were originally present from that index are shifted right by one position.
Python Program
aList = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
aList.insert(2, 'mango')
for element in aList:
print(element)
Output
apple
banana
mango
cherry
Iterate over Python List Elements
You can use any looping technique to iterate over elements of a Python list. Let us go through examples with
each of the looping technique.
In the following is a program, we will use Python For loop to iterate over list. We are just printing the element,
buy you may write multiple statement to process or transform the list element.
Python Program
aList = [21, 53, 84]
for element in aList:
print(element)
Output
21
53
84
In the following is a program, we will use Python While loop to iterate over list.
Python Program
aList = [21, 53, 84]
index = 0
while index < len(aList):
print(aList[index])
index += 1
Output
21
53
84
Sort a Python List
list.sort() function sorts the list in ascending order by default. You can specify to sort in descending order
using ‘reverse’ attribute.
In the following program, we will sort the list of numbers in ascending order.
Python Program
aList = [21, 53, 84, 5, 62]
aList.sort()
for element in aList:
print(element)
Output
5
21
53
62
84
In the following program, we will sort the list of numbers in descending order.
Python Program
aList = [21, 53, 84, 5, 62]
aList.sort(reverse=True)
for element in aList:
print(element)
Output
84
62
53
21
5
Python List Operations
There are many operations that you could perform on a List. Following are some of them. A detailed
explanation with example programs have been provided for the each of the below operations.
Get length of Python List
Iterate over Elements of Python List
Python List While Loop
Python List For Loop
Append an element to Python List
Add element at specific position in Python List
Sorting a Python List
Pop last element from Python List
Delete specific element or item at given index from Python List
Convert Tuple into a Python List
Reverse a Python List
Conclusion
In this Python Tutorial, we learned about List in Python programming, how to access its elements and some of
the operations that can be performed on a List.
Python Programming
⊩ Python Tutorial
⊩ Install Python
⊩ Install Anaconda Python
⊩ Python HelloWorld Program
⊩ Python Variables
⊩ Python Variable Data Type Conversion
⊩ Python Comments
Control Statements
⊩ Python If
⊩ Python If Else
⊩ Python While Loop
⊩ Python For Loop
Python String
⊩ Python String Methods
⊩ Python String Length
⊩ Python String Replace
⊩ Python Split String
⊩ Python Count Occurrences of Sub-String
⊩ Python Sort List of Strings
Functions
⊩ Python Functions
⊩ Python Builtin Functions
Python Collections
⊩ Python List
⊩ Python Dictionary
Advanced
⊩ Python Multithreading
Useful Resources
⊩ Python Interview Questions
