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:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(thislist)

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))

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]

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])

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.

Example

Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[2:5])

By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first
item:

Example

This example returns the items from the beginning to, but NOT including,
"kiwi":

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[:4])

By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of
the list:

Example

This example returns the items from "cherry" to the end:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[2:])

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")

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)

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)
Python - Add List Items

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)

Insert Items

To insert a list item at a specified index, use the insert() method.

The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:

Example

Insert an item as the second position:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thislist.insert(1, "orange")
print(thislist)

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)

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)

If there are more than one item with the specified value,
the remove() method removes the first occurrence:

Example

Remove the first occurrence of "banana":

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "banana", "kiwi"]

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)

The del keyword also removes the specified index:

Example

Remove the first item:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

del thislist[0]
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])

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

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)
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)

Iterable

The iterable can be any iterable object, like a list, tuple, set etc.

Example

You can use the range() function to create an iterable:

newlist = [x for x in range(10)]

Same example, but with a condition:

Example

Accept only numbers lower than 5:

newlist = [x for x in range(10) if x < 5]

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:

Example

Set the values in the new list to upper case:

newlist = [x.upper() for x in fruits]

You can set the outcome to whatever you like:

Example

Set all values in the new list to 'hello':

newlist = ['hello' for x in fruits]

The expression can also contain conditions, not like a filter, but as a way
to manipulate the outcome:

Example

Return "orange" instead of "banana":

newlist = [x if x != "banana" else "orange" for x in fruits]

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)

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)

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

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)

Or you can use the extend() method, where the purpose is to add
elements from one list to another list:

Example

Use the extend() method to add list2 at the end of list1:

list1 = ["a", "b" , "c"]

list2 = [1, 2, 3]

list1.extend(list2)
print(list1)

Python If ... Else

Python Conditions and If statements

Python supports the usual logical conditions from mathematics:

 Equals: a == b

 Not Equals: a != b

 Less than: a < b

  Less than or equal to: a <= b

 Greater than: a > b

 Greater than or equal to: a >= b

These conditions can be used in several ways, most commonly in "if

statements" and loops.

An "if statement" is written by using the if keyword.

Example

If statement:

a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a")

Example

If statement, without indentation (will raise an error):

a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a") # you will get an error

Elif

The elif keyword is Python's way of saying "if the previous conditions were
not true, then try this condition".

Example

a = 33
b = 33
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a")
elif a == b:
print("a and b are equal")

In this example a is equal to b, so the first condition is not true, but

the elif condition is true, so we print to screen that "a and b are equal".

Else
The else keyword catches anything which isn't caught by the preceding
conditions.

Example

a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a")
elif a == b:
print("a and b are equal")
else:
print("a is greater than b")

In this example a is greater than b, so the first condition is not true, also
the elif condition is not true, so we go to the else condition and print to
screen that "a is greater than b".

You can also have an else without the elif:

Example

a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a")
else:
print("b is not greater than a")

Short Hand If

If you have only one statement to execute, you can put it on the same line
as the if statement.

Example

One line if statement:

if a > b: print("a is greater than b")

Short Hand If ... Else

If you have only one statement to execute, one for if, and one for else,
you can put it all on the same line:

Example

One line if else statement:

a=2
b = 330
print("A") if a > b else print("B")

You can also have multiple else statements on the same line:

Example

One line if else statement, with 3 conditions:

a = 330
b = 330
print("A") if a > b else print("=") if a == b else print("B")

And

The and keyword is a logical operator, and is used to combine conditional

statements:

Example

Test if a is greater than b, AND if c is greater than a:

a = 200
b = 33
c = 500
if a > b and c > a:
print("Both conditions are True")

Or

The or keyword is a logical operator, and is used to combine conditional

statements:

Example

Test if a is greater than b, OR if a is greater than c:

a = 200
b = 33
c = 500
if a > b or a > c:
print("At least one of the conditions is True")

Not
The not keyword is a logical operator, and is used to reverse the result of
the conditional statement:

Example

Test if a is NOT greater than b:

a = 33
b = 200
if not a > b:
print("a is NOT greater than b")

Nested If

You can have if statements inside if statements, this is

called nested if statements.

Example

x = 41

if x > 10:
print("Above ten,")
if x > 20:
print("and also above 20!")
else:
print("but not above 20.")