July 27, 2018

Difference between list and tuple in Python

By Mohammed Abualrob Code Snippets, Technical Differences 0 Comments

Introduction

So you are curious to know the key difference between a list and tuple in Python ? You can find the answer in many places on the web, however in this code snippet we will summarize it so that it is easy to remember. Take a look at the following table…

List vs Tuple in Python

Here are the main differences…

Python List	Python Tuple
Collection data type	Collection data type
Mutable (i.e. can be modified)	Immutable (i.e. cannot be modified)
Use square brackets [] to define	Use parenthesis () to define
Can hold data of different types	Can hold data of different types
Elements are ordered	Elements are ordered
Mainly used to collect similar Items (can be tuples)	Mainly used to group data as one item
Similar to arrays in other languages	Similar to records or struct in other languages

Code

Let us now demonstrate the concepts mentioned in the table above…

# Define tuples (ex. addresses)
fremont = (3000, "Macmillan Way", "Fremont", "CA", 94555)
sanjose = (4000, "Tasman Drive", "San Jose", "CA", 95123)

# Define a list of locations. We can modify the list 
# by appending more addresses
locations = []
locations.append(fremont)
locations.append(sanjose)

# This will print: 
# <type 'tuple'> in Python 2 or
# <class 'tuple'> in Python 3
print(type(fremont))

# This will print: 
# <type 'list'> in Python 2 or
# <class 'list'> in Python 3
print(type(locations))

# Try to modify a tuple. This is going to trigger
# the exception. It should print:
# 'tuple' object does not support item assignment
try:
	fremont[0] = 5000
except Exception as e:
	print(e)

# Once a tuple is declared, we can reassign it
# this will print: 
# (4000, 'Macmillan Way', 'Fremont', 'CA', 94555)
fremont = (4000, "Macmillan Way", "Fremont", "CA", 94555)
print(fremont)

# Define tuples (ex. addresses)

fremont = (3000, "Macmillan Way", "Fremont", "CA", 94555)

sanjose = (4000, "Tasman Drive", "San Jose", "CA", 95123)

# Define a list of locations. We can modify the list

# by appending more addresses

locations = []

locations.append(fremont)

locations.append(sanjose)

# This will print:

# <type 'tuple'> in Python 2 or

# <class 'tuple'> in Python 3

print(type(fremont))

# This will print:

# <type 'list'> in Python 2 or

# <class 'list'> in Python 3

print(type(locations))

# Try to modify a tuple. This is going to trigger

# the exception. It should print:

# 'tuple' object does not support item assignment

try:

fremont[0] = 5000

except Exception as e:

print(e)

# Once a tuple is declared, we can reassign it

# this will print:

# (4000, 'Macmillan Way', 'Fremont', 'CA', 94555)

fremont = (4000, "Macmillan Way", "Fremont", "CA", 94555)

print(fremont)

If we run the code snippet code above, we should get the following output:

# <type 'tuple'>
# <type 'list'>
# 'tuple' object does not support item assignment
# (4000, 'Macmillan Way', 'Fremont', 'CA', 94555)

# <type 'tuple'>

# <type 'list'>

# 'tuple' object does not support item assignment

# (4000, 'Macmillan Way', 'Fremont', 'CA', 94555)

That is all for today. Thanks for visiting.

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Difference between list and tuple in Python

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