Python Lists and Methods Explained

Python Lists and Methods Explained

Introduction

In this blog, I will be covering all the methods of python lists in detail that I covered in the form of cheatsheet.

HD Cheatsheet Link : thegeekyboy.gumroad.com/l/python-lists

list.png

What are Lists ?

Python lists are containers that are used to store a list of values of any type. Python lists are mutable , we can change the elements of list in place.

Example of a list:

abc = [1,2,3] 
lis = ['a','b','c']

List Methods

1) The len() Function

Returns the length of its argumented list. It returns the number of elements in the passed list.

Example :

abc = [1,2,3]
print(len(abc))
# Output = 3

2) The list() method

Returns a list created from the passed argument. The argument should be a sequence type, i.e. either string or tuple.

Syntax :

list([<sequence>])

Example :

list('aditya')

Output: ['a', 'd', 'i', 't', 'y', 'a']

3) The index() method

This function returns the index of the first matched item from the list.

Syntax:

list.index(<item>)

Example :

lis = [1,2,3]
lis.index(1)
# output: 0

lis = [1,2,3,3,3,4,5]
lis.index(3)
#output: 2

4) The append() method

The append() method adds an item to the end of the list. It adds only one item and only at the end of the list.

Syntax :

list.append(item)

Example:

currencies = ['Dollar', 'Euro', 'Pound']
# append 'Yen' to the list
currencies.append('Yen')
print(currencies)
# Output: ['Dollar', 'Euro', 'Pound', 'Yen']

5) The extend() method

The extend() method adds all the elements of an iterable (list, tuple, string etc.) to the end of the list.

Example :

# create a list
prime_numbers = [2, 3, 5]
# create another list
numbers = [1, 4]
numbers.extend(prime_numbers)
print(numbers)

# Output: [1, 4, 2, 3, 5]

6) The insert() method

The insert() method inserts an element to the list at the specified index.

Example :

vowel = ['a', 'e', 'i', 'u']
vowel.insert(3, 'o')
print('List:', vowel)
# Output: List: ['a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u']

7. The remove() method

The remove() method removes the first matching element (which is passed as an argument) from the list.

Example:

prime_numbers = [2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11]
prime_numbers.remove(9)
print('Updated List: ', prime_numbers)

# Output: Updated List:  [2, 3, 5, 7, 11]

8) The pop() method

The pop() method removes the item at the given index from the list and returns the removed item.

Example:

prime_numbers = [2, 3, 5, 7]
removed_element = prime_numbers.pop(2)

print('Removed Element:', removed_element)
print('Updated List:', prime_numbers)

# Output: 
# Removed Element: 5
# Updated List: [2, 3, 7]

9) The sort() method

The sort() method sorts the items of a list in ascending or descending order.

Example:

prime_numbers = [11, 3, 7, 5, 2]
prime_numbers.sort()

print(prime_numbers)

# Output: [2, 3, 5, 7, 11]

10) The copy() method

The copy() method returns a shallow copy of the list.

Example:

prime_numbers = [2, 3, 5]
numbers = prime_numbers.copy()
print('Copied List:', numbers)

# Output: Copied List: [2, 3, 5]

11) The reverse() method

The reverse() method reverses the elements of the list.

Example:

prime_numbers = [2, 3, 5, 7]

prime_numbers.reverse()
print('Reversed List:', prime_numbers)

# Output: Reversed List: [7, 5, 3, 2]

Reference Taken from

  1. Sumita Arora Python Book
  2. Pynative Blog

Thankyou for tuning in till the end. Hope you enjoyed the blog and cheatsheet. Stay tuned for next blog.

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