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Python Lists
Last Updated : 28 Oct, 2024

In Python, a list is a built-in data structure that is used to store an ordered collection of items. Lists
are mutable, meaning that their contents can be changed after the list has been created. They can
hold a various of data types, including integers, floats, strings, and even other lists.

Let’s take a quick example for Python list:

Python

a = [1, 'apple', 3.14, [5, 6]]

print(a)

Output

[1, 'apple', 3.14, [5, 6]]

Table of Content
Creating a List
Creating a List with Repeated Elements
Accessing List Elements
Modifying Lists
Adding Elements into List
Updating Elements into List
Removing Elements from List
Iterating Over Lists
Nested Lists and Multidimensional Lists
Basic Example on Python List

Creating a List
We can create a list in Python using square brackets [] or by using the list() constructor. Here are
some common methods to create a list:

Using Square Brackets

We can directly create a list by enclosing elements in square brackets.

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Python

# List of integers
a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# List of strings
b = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Mixed data types

c = [1, 'hello', 3.14, True]

print(a)
print(b)
print(c)

Output

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
[1, 'hello', 3.14, True]

Using the list() Constructor

We can also create a list by passing an iterable (like a string, tuple, or another list) to
the list() function.

Python

# From a tuple
a = list((1, 2, 3, 'apple', 4.5))

print(a)

Output

[1, 2, 3, 'apple', 4.5]

Creating a List with Repeated Elements

We can create a list with repeated elements using the multiplication operator.

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Python

# Create a list [2, 2, 2, 2, 2]

a = [2] * 5

# Create a list [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]

b = [0] * 7

print(a)
print(b)

Output

[2, 2, 2, 2, 2]
[0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]

Accessing List Elements

Elements in a list can be accessed using indexing. Python indexes start at 0, so a[0] will access the
first element, while negative indexing allows us to access elements from the end of the list. Like
index -1 represents the last elements of list.

Python

a = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]

# Access first element

print(a[0])

# Access last element

print(a[-1])

Output

10
50

Adding Elements into List

We can add elements to a list using the following methods:

append(): Adds an element at the end of the list.

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extend(): Adds multiple elements to the end of the list.

insert(): Adds an element at a specific position.

Python

# Initialize an empty list

a = []

# Adding 10 to end of list

a.append(10)
print("After append(10):", a)

# Inserting 5 at index 0
a.insert(0, 5)
print("After insert(0, 5):", a)

# Adding multiple elements [15, 20, 25] at the end

a.extend([15, 20, 25])
print("After extend([15, 20, 25]):", a)

Output

After append(10): [10]

After insert(0, 5): [5, 10]
After extend([15, 20, 25]): [5, 10, 15, 20, 25]

Updating Elements into List

We can change the value of an element by accessing it using its index.

Python

a = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]

# Change the second element

a[1] = 25

print(a)

Output

[10, 25, 30, 40, 50]

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Removing Elements from List

We can remove elements from a list using:

remove(): Removes the first occurrence of an element.

pop(): Removes the element at a specific index or the last element if no index is specified.
del statement: Deletes an element at a specified index.

Python

a = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]

# Removes the first occurrence of 30

a.remove(30)
print("After remove(30):", a)

# Removes the element at index 1 (20)

popped_val = a.pop(1)
print("Popped element:", popped_val)
print("After pop(1):", a)

# Deletes the first element (10)

del a[0]
print("After del a[0]:", a)

Output

After remove(30): [10, 20, 40, 50]

Popped element: 20
After pop(1): [10, 40, 50]
After del a[0]: [40, 50]

Iterating Over Lists

We can iterate the Lists easily by using a for loop or other iteration methods. Iterating over lists is
useful when we want to do some operation on each item or access specific items based on certain
conditions. Let’s take an example to iterate over the list using for loop.

Using for Loop

Python

a = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

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# Iterating over the list
for item in a:
print(item)

Output

apple
banana
cherry

To learn various other methods, please refer to iterating over lists.

Nested Lists and Multidimensional Lists

A nested list is a list within another list, which is useful for representing matrices or tables. We can
access nested elements by chaining indexes.

Python

matrix = [
[1, 2, 3],
[4, 5, 6],
[7, 8, 9]
]

# Access element at row 2, column 3

print(matrix[1][2])

Output

To learn more, please refer to Multi-dimensional lists in Python

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