What is the List in Python

Python list is a mutable, ordered, and iterable collection of elements. Lists can contain items of different data types, such as integers, floats, strings, and even other lists or custom objects. Lists are a versatile and widely used data structure in Python for organizing and processing data.

How to Create a List

You can create a list by enclosing a comma-separated sequence of items within square brackets [].

# Creating a list with integers
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Creating a list with mixed data types
mixed_list = [1, "hello", 3.14, [1, 2, 3]]
print(mixed_list)

Output

[1, 'hello', 3.14, [1, 2, 3]]

How to access list elements

You can access list elements by their index, starting from 0 for the first item using the square brackets [].

# Creating a list with integers
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Creating a list with mixed data types
mixed_list = [1, "hello", 3.14, [1, 2, 3]]

print(mixed_list[0])
print(mixed_list[1])

Output

1
hello

Modify list elements using their index

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

numbers[0] = 11

print(numbers)

Output

[11, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Adding items to the list using the append() method or the + operator

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

numbers.append(6)
print(numbers)

Output

[11, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Removing elements from the list

You can remove elements from the list using the remove() method, del statement, or pop() method.

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

numbers.remove(2) 
del numbers[0]
popped_item = numbers.pop()

print(numbers)
print(popped_item)

Output

[3, 4]
5

Use list comprehensions to create new lists based on existing lists

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

squares = [number**2 for number in numbers]

print(squares)

Output

[1, 4, 9, 16, 25]

Lists in Python are flexible and can be used for various purposes, such as storing and processing data, organizing objects, and implementing data structures like stacks and queues.