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Multi-Dimensional Lists

The document discusses multi-dimensional lists in Python, which allow representing matrices using nested lists. It demonstrates how to access and modify values in multi-dimensional lists, similarly to accessing values in a matrix. Various common list operations like length, concatenation, repetition, membership checking, and iteration are also explained.

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9 views

Multi-Dimensional Lists

The document discusses multi-dimensional lists in Python, which allow representing matrices using nested lists. It demonstrates how to access and modify values in multi-dimensional lists, similarly to accessing values in a matrix. Various common list operations like length, concatenation, repetition, membership checking, and iteration are also explained.

Uploaded by

ravindu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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7.

Multi-dimensional Lists
Up to now, we only looked at one-dimensional lists where a list holds values within
square brackets. Python allows the creation of multi-dimensional lists as well. Consider
the following matrix presented in Figure 2.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a matrix, consider it as a simple structure where
values are stored in multiple rows and columns. A value in a matrix is denoted by amn
where m is the row number and n is the column number (see Figure 2).

Using 2-dimensional lists is an easy approach to represent matrices in Python. The


following is a 2-dimensional list that stores the matrix given in Figure 3 above.
data = [[1,1,1], [2,2,2], [3,3,3]]
There are three lists inside another list. Each internal list holds the values of a row in the
matrix. For example, the first internal list contains the values [1,1,1] which is the first row
in the matrix.
Accessing the values in a 2-dimensional list is similar to accessing values in a matrix.
Suppose we want to access the value in the center square (a22). In the 2-dimensional
list data, it is in the internal list at index 1 and inside that internal list, it is at index 1
again. The following code clearly illustrates how to access values in a 2-dimensional list.
>>> data = [[1,1,1], [2,2,2], [3,3,3]]
>>> print(data[1][1])
2
Other list operations such as update, append, and delete also work in a similar manner.
See the example below.
>>> data = [[1,1,1], [2,2,2], [3,3,3]]
>>> data[1][1] = 25
>>> print(data)
[[1,1,1], [2,25,2], [3,3,3]]
>>> data[1].append(2)
>>> print(data)
[[1,1,1], [2,25,2,2], [3,3,3]]

8. List Operations
This section discusses some other common list operations.
Length
To find the size/length of a list, the function ‘len’ (stands for length) can be used. See
the following example.
>>> len([1,2,3])
3
The length of this list is 3 as the list contains 3 values.
Concatenation
>>> a = [1,2,3]
>>> b = [4,5,6]
>>> print(a+b)
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Suppose there are two lists a and b. The contents of lists a and b can be combined
using the plus(+) operator. a+b will output a single list with contents from lists a and b.
In the output of the above example, values 1, 2, and 3 are from list a, and values 4, 5,
and 6 are from list b.
Repetition
The following code illustrates how repetition works.
>>> print([‘Hi’] * 4)
[‘Hi’, ‘Hi’, ‘Hi’, ‘Hi’]
Note that in the above example, multiplying by 4 does not create 4 separate lists but a
single list where the contents of the original list are multiplied 4 times.
Membership
Membership checks whether a value is available in a list. See the following example.
>>> print(3 in [1,2,3])
True
The ‘in’ operator is used to check membership. Statement ‘3 in [1,2,3]’ checks whether
value 3 is available in the list. Since the value is available, it returns True. If the value is
not available, it will return False.
Iteration
Iteration means going through the list one element at a time.
>>> for x in [1,2,3]:
print(x)
1
2
3
The first element in the list, which is 1 in the example above, will be assigned to the
variable x. Then the print(x) statement will be executed. After that, the second value in
the list, which is 2, will be assigned to the variable x. The print(x) statement will be
executed again. This pattern continues until the last element in the list. It might not be
very clear at this point. The concept of iteration will be discussed in detail in the next
lesson.

9. Indexing and Slicing


We learned earlier that indices are required to access values in a list. This section
summarizes indexing and introduces an alternative way of indexing called negative
indices. Consider the list L=[‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’]. Table 1 presents a set of Python expressions
and their corresponding results that illustrate how indexing and slicing work.
Python Expression Result Description
L[2] 'c' Indices start at zero
L[-2] 'b' Negative indexing is from right to left
L[1:] ['b', 'c'] Slicing extracts sections

Negative Indices
Figure 4 illustrates how the list L is indexed using normal indexing and negative
indexing.

In negative indexing, the last value of the list is indexed -1, similar to how the first value
is indexed 0 in normal indexing. The rest of the elements are indexed from right to left.
In the given example, the last element ‘c’ is indexed -1, the next value to the left ‘b’ is
indexed -2, and ‘a’ is indexed -3. Therefore, ‘print(L[-2])’ will output ‘b’.
Slicing
Slicing means extracting a part of the list. We have learned about this earlier as well (in
Section 3), but without using the term slicing. Using the range m to n within square
brackets (L[m:n]) will consider the values from index m to index (n-1). In addition to what
has been discussed in previous sections, the second part of the range is empty in L[1:].
It means from index 1 up to the last value of the list. Hence, L[1:] outputs the values ‘b’
and ‘c’.

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