Chapter – 3 – Lists and dictionaries

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:

• 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.
 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:

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

• List Items - Data Types

• List items can be of any data type:
• List
A list can contain different data types:

• type()
• From Python's perspective, lists are defined as objects with the data type 'list':

• The list() Constructor

• It is also possible to use the list() constructor when creating a new list.
 collections
• 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.
• When choosing a collection type, it is useful to understand the properties of that type.
• Choosing the right type for a particular data set could mean retention of meaning, and, it could mean
an increase in efficiency or security.
 List-Access Items
• Access List Items
• List items are indexed and you can access them by referring to the index number:

• Note: The first item has index 0.

• Negative Indexing
• Negative indexing means start from the end
• -1 refers to the last item, -2 refers to the second last item etc.
 List-Access Items
• Range of Indexes
• You can specify a range of indexes by specifying where to start and where to end the range.
• When specifying a range, the return value will be a new list with the specified items.

• Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).
• By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first item:
 List-Access Items
• Range of Indexes
• By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of the list:

• Range of Negative Indexes

• Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the list:
 List-Access Items
• Check if Item Exists
• To determine if a specified item is present in a list use the in keyword:

• Change List Items

• Change Item Value
• To change the value of a specific item, refer to the index number:
 List-Access Items
• 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:

• If you insert more items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you
specified, and the remaining items will move accordingly:
 List-Access Items
• Change a Range of Item Values
• 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:

• 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:
 List-Add Items
• Add List Items
• Append Items
• To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:

• Extend List
• To append elements from another list to the current list, use the extend() method.
 List-Remove Items
• Remove List Items
• Remove Specified Item
• The remove() method removes the specified item.

• If there are more than one item with the specified value, the remove() method
removes the first occurrence:
 List-Remove Items
• Remove List Items
• Remove Specified Index
• The pop() method removes the specified index.

• If you do not specify the index, the pop() method removes the last item.

• The del keyword also removes the specified index:.

 List-Remove Items
• Remove List Items
• Remove Specified Index
• The del keyword can also delete the list completely.

• Clear the List

• The clear() method empties the list.
• The list still remains, but it has no content.
 List-Loop
• Loop Through a List
• You can loop through the list items by using a for loop:

• 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.
 List-Loop
• 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.

• Looping Using List Comprehension

• List Comprehension offers the shortest syntax for looping through lists:
 List-Comprehension
• 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:
• List-Comprehension
With list comprehension you can do all that with only one line of code:

• The Syntax

• The return value is a new list, leaving the old list unchanged.
• The condition is like a filter that only accepts the items that valuate to True.

• The condition is optional and can be omitted:

 List-Comprehension
• Iterable
• The iterable can be any iterable object, like a list, tuple, set etc.

• Same example, but with a condition:

• Expression
• The expression is the current item in the iteration, but it is also the outcome, which you can
manipulate before it ends up like a list item in the new list:
• List-Comprehension
Expression
• You can set the outcome to whatever you like:
 List-Sorting
• Sort List Alphanumerically
• List objects have a sort() method that will sort the list alphanumerically, ascending, by
default:

• Sort Descending
• To sort descending, use the keyword argument reverse = True:

• Customize Sort Function

• You can also customize your own function by using the keyword argument key = function.

• The function will return a number that will be used to sort the list (the lowest number first):
• List-Sorting
Customize Sort Function

• Case Insensitive Sort

• By default the sort() method is case sensitive, resulting in all capital letters being sorted
before lower case letters:
• So if you want a case-insensitive sort function, use str.lower as a key function:
• Reverse Order List-Sorting
• What if you want to reverse the order of a list, regardless of the alphabet?
• The reverse() method reverses the current sorting order of the elements.
• Copy Lists
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.
• Use the copy() method
• You can use the built-in List method copy() to copy a list.

• Use the list() method

• Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in method list().

• Use the slice Operator

• You can also make a copy of a list by using the : (slice) operator.
 Join 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.

• Another way to join two lists is by appending all the items from list2 into list1, one by
one:

• Or you can use the extend() method, where the purpose is to add elements from one list
to another list:
 Tuple
• Tuples are used to store multiple items in a single variable.
• Tuple is one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to store collections of data, the other
3 are List, Set, and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.
• A tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable.
• Tuples are written with round brackets.

• Tuple Items
• Tuple items are ordered, unchangeable, and allow duplicate values.
• Tuple items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.
• Ordered
• When we say that tuples are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and that
order will not change.
 Tuple
• Unchangeable
• Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change, add or remove items after the
tuple has been created.
• Allow Duplicates
• Since tuples are indexed, they can have items with the same value:

• Tuple Length
• To determine how many items a tuple has, use the len() function:
 Tuple
• Create Tuple With One Item
• To create a tuple with only one item, you have to add a comma after the item, otherwise
Python will not recognize it as a tuple.

• Tuple Items - Data Types

• Tuple items can be of any data type:
 Update Tuple
• Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that you cannot change, add, or remove items once
the tuple is created.
• Once a tuple is created, you cannot change its values. Tuples are unchangeable, or immutable as
it also is called.

• But there is a workaround. You can convert the tuple into a list, change the list, and convert the
list back into a tuple.
 Update Tuple
• Add Items
• Since tuples are immutable, they do not have a built-in append() method, but there are other
ways to add items to a tuple.
• 1. Convert into a list: Just like the workaround for changing a tuple, you can convert it into
a list, add your item(s), and convert it back into a tuple.

• 2. Add tuple to a tuple. You are allowed to add tuples to tuples, so if you want to add one item, (or
many), create a new tuple with the item(s), and add it to the existing tuple:
 Update Tuple
• Remove Items
• Note: You cannot remove items in a tuple.
• Tuples are unchangeable, so you cannot remove items from it, but you can use the same workaround
as we used for changing and adding tuple items:

• Or you can delete the tuple completely:

•
Unpack Tuple
When we create a tuple, we normally assign values to it. This is called "packing" a tuple:

• But, in Python, we are also allowed to extract the values back into variables. This is
called "unpacking":

• Using Asterisk*
• If the number of variables is less than the number of values, you can add an * to the variable name
and the values will be assigned to the variable as a list:
• Unpack Tuple
If the asterisk is added to another variable name than the last, Python will assign values to the
variable until the number of values left matches the number of variables left.
•
Loop Tuples
You can loop through the tuple items by using a for loop.

• You can also loop through the tuple items by referring to their index number.
• Use the range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.

• Using a While Loop

 Join Tuples
• Join Two Tuples
• To join two or more tuples you can use the + operator:

• Multiply Tuples
• If you want to multiply the content of a tuple a given number of times, you can use the * operator:
• Tuples Methods
Python has two built-in methods that you can use on tuples.
•
Sets
Sets are used to store multiple items in a single variable.
• Set is one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to store collections of data, the other 3 are List,
Tuple, and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.
• A set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable*, and unindexed.
• Sets are written with curly brackets.

• Unordered
• Unordered means that the items in a set do not have a defined order.
• Set items can appear in a different order every time you use them, and cannot be referred to by index
or key.
• Unchangeable
Sets
• Set items are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change the items after the set has been
created.
• Once a set is created, you cannot change its items, but you can remove items and add new
items.
• Duplicates Not Allowed
• Sets cannot have two items with the same value.

• Get the Length of a Set

• To determine how many items a set has, use the len() function.
• Data Types Sets
• Set items can be of any data type:

• The set() Constructor

• It is also possible to use the set() constructor to make a set.
• Access Set Items
You cannot access items in a set by referring to an index or a key.
• But you can loop through the set items using a for loop, or ask if a specified value is
present in a set, by using the in keyword.
• Add Set Items
To add one item to a set use the add() method.

• To add items from another set into the current set, use the update() method.

• The object in the update() method does not have to be a set, it can be any iterable object
(tuples, lists, dictionaries etc.).
• Remove Set Items
To remove an item in a set, use the remove(), or the discard() method.

• Note: If the item to remove does not exist, remove() will raise an error.

• Note: If the item to remove does not exist, discard() will NOT raise an error.
• You can also use the pop() method to remove an item, but this method will remove a
random item, so you cannot be sure what item that gets removed.
• The return value of the pop() method is the removed item.
• Remove Set Items
The clear() method empties the set:

• The del keyword will delete the set completely:

• You can loop through the set items by using a for loop:
• Join Sets
There are several ways to join two or more sets in Python.
• The union() and update() methods joins all items from both sets.
• The intersection() method keeps ONLY the duplicates.
• The difference() method keeps the items from the first set that are not in the other
set(s).
• The symmetric_difference() method keeps all items EXCEPT the duplicates.
• Union
• The union() method returns a new set with all items from both sets.

• You can use the | operator instead of the union() method, and you will get the same
result.
• Join Multiple Sets Join Sets
• All the joining methods and operators can be used to join multiple sets.
• When using a method, just add more sets in the parentheses, separated by commas:

• When using the | operator, separate the sets with more | operators:
• Join Sets
Join a Set and a Tuple
• The union() method allows you to join a set with other data types, like lists or tuples.
• The result will be a set.

• Note: The | operator only allows you to join sets with sets, and not with other data types like
you can with the union() method.
• Update
• The update() method inserts all items from one set into another.
• The update() changes the original set, and does not return a new set.
• Intersection Join Sets
• Keep ONLY the duplicates
• The intersection() method will return a new set, that only contains the items that are present
in both sets.

• You can use the & operator instead of the intersection() method, and you will get the same
result.

• Note: The & operator only allows you to join sets with sets, and not with other data types
like you can with the intersection() method.
• Join Sets
The intersection_update() method will also keep ONLY the duplicates, but it will change
the original set instead of returning a new set.

• Difference
• The difference() method will return a new set that will contain only the items from the first
set that are not present in the other set.
• Join Sets
You can use the - operator instead of the difference() method, and you will get the same
result.

• Note: The - operator only allows you to join sets with sets, and not with other data types
like you can with the difference() method.
• The difference_update() method will also keep the items from the first set that are not in
the other set, but it will change the original set instead of returning a new set.
• Join Sets
Symmetric Differences
• The symmetric_difference() method will keep only the elements that are NOT present in
both sets.

• You can use the ^ operator instead of the symmetric_difference() method, and you will get
the same result.

• Note: The ^ operator only allows you to join sets with sets, and not with other data types
like you can with the symmetric_difference() method.
• Join Sets
Symmetric Differences
• The symmetric_difference_update() method will also keep all but the duplicates, but it will
change the original set instead of returning a new set.
• Dictionaries
Dictionaries are used to store data values in key:value pairs.
• A dictionary is a collection which is ordered*, changeable and do not allow duplicates.
• As of Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered. In Python 3.6 and earlier, dictionaries are
unordered.
• Dictionaries are written with curly brackets, and have keys and values:

• Dictionary items are presented in key:value pairs, and can be referred to by using the key name.
• Dictionaries
Ordered or Unordered?
• When we say that dictionaries are ordered, it means that the items have a defined
order, and that order will not change.
• Unordered means that the items do not have a defined order, you cannot refer to an
item by using an index.
• Changeable
• Dictionaries are changeable, meaning that we can change, add or remove items after
the dictionary has been created.
• Duplicates Not Allowed
• Dictionaries cannot have two items with the same key:
• Dictionaries
Dictionary Length
• To determine how many items a dictionary has, use the len() function:

• Data Types
• The values in dictionary items can be of any data type:

• The dict() Constructor

• It is also possible to use the dict() constructor to make a dictionary.
•
Access Dictionary Items
You can access the items of a dictionary by referring to its key name, inside
square brackets:

• There is also a method called get() that will give you the same result:

• Get Keys
• The keys() method will return a list of all the keys in the dictionary.
• Access Dictionary Items
The list of the keys is a view of the dictionary, meaning that any changes done to the
dictionary will be reflected in the keys list.

• Get Values
• The values() method will return a list of all the values in the dictionary.
• Access Dictionary Items
Get Items
• The items() method will return each item in a dictionary, as tuples in a list.

• Check if Key Exists

• To determine if a specified key is present in a dictionary use the in keyword:
• Change
Change ValuesDictionary Items
• You can change the value of a specific item by referring to its key name:

• Update Dictionary
• The update() method will update the dictionary with the items from the given
argument.
• The argument must be a dictionary, or an iterable object with key:value pairs.
• Add Dictionary Items
Adding Items
• Adding an item to the dictionary is done by using a new index key and assigning a value to
it:

• Update Dictionary
• The update() method will update the dictionary with the items from a given argument. If the
item does not exist, the item will be added.
• The argument must be a dictionary, or an iterable object with key:value pairs.
• Remove
There are severalDictionary Items
methods to remove items from a dictionary:
• The pop() method removes the item with the specified key name:

• The popitem() method removes the last inserted item (in versions before 3.7, a random
item is removed instead):

• The del keyword removes the item with the specified key name:

• The del keyword can also delete the dictionary completely:

• The clear() method empties the dictionary:

• Loop Dictionaries
You can loop through a dictionary by using a for loop.
• When looping through a dictionary, the return value are the keys of the dictionary, but
there are methods to return the values as well.

• Print all values in the dictionary, one by one:

• You can also use the values() method to return values of a dictionary:
• Loop Dictionaries
You can use the keys() method to return the keys of a dictionary:

• Loop through both keys and values, by using the items() method:
• Copy Dictionaries
You cannot copy a dictionary simply by typing dict2 = dict1, because: dict2 will only be
a reference to dict1, and changes made in dict1 will automatically also be made in dict2.

• There are ways to make a copy, one way is to use the built-in Dictionary method copy().
• Make a copy of a dictionary with the copy() method:

• Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in function dict().

• Nested Dictionaries
A dictionary can contain dictionaries, this is called nested dictionaries.
• Nested Dictionaries
Access Items in Nested Dictionaries
• To access items from a nested dictionary, you use the name of the dictionaries,
starting with the outer dictionary:.

• Loop Through Nested Dictionaries

• You can loop through a dictionary by using the items() method like this: