Unit III

Python Collections (Arrays)

There are four collection data types in the Python programming language:

 List is a collection which is ordered and changeable. Allows duplicate members.

 Tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. Allows duplicate members.
 Set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable*, and unindexed. No duplicate
members.
 Dictionary is a collection which is ordered** and changeable. No duplicate members.

Python Lists

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

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:

Example

Create a List:

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

print(thislist)

List Items

List items are ordered, changeable, and allow duplicate values.

List items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.

Ordered

When we say that lists are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and that
order will not change.
If you add new items to a list, the new items will be placed at the end of the list.

Note: There are some list methods that will change the order, but in general: the order of the
items will not change.

Changeable

The list is changeable, meaning that we can change, add, and remove items in a list after it
has been created.

Allow Duplicates

Since lists are indexed, lists can have items with the same value:

Example

Lists allow duplicate values:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple", "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]
A list can contain different data types:

Example

A list with strings, integers and boolean values:

list1 = ["abc", 34, True, 40, "male"]

type()

From Python's perspective, lists are defined as objects with the data type 'list':

<class 'list'>

Example

What is the data type of a list?

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

print(type(mylist))

The list() Constructor

It is also possible to use the list() constructor when creating a new list.

Example

Using the list() constructor to make a List:

thislist = list(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) # note the double round-brackets

print(thislist)

Python - Access List Items

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])

Note: The first item has index 0.

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])

Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).

Remember that the first item has index 0.

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")

Python - Change List Items

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)

Note: The length of the list will change when the number of items inserted does not match
the number of items replaced.

If you insert less items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you specified,
and the remaining items will move accordingly:

Example

Change the second and third value by replacing it with one value:

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

thislist[1:3] = ["watermelon"]
print(thislist)

Insert Items

To insert a new list item, without replacing any of the existing values, we can use the insert()
method.

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

Example

Insert "watermelon" as the third item:

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

thislist.insert(2, "watermelon")
print(thislist)

Note: As a result of the example above, the list will now contain 4 items.
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)

Note: As a result of the examples above, the lists will now contain 4 items.

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)

The elements will be added to the end of the list.

Add Any Iterable

The extend() method does not have to append lists, you can add any iterable object (tuples,
sets, dictionaries etc.).

Example

Add elements of a tuple to a list:

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

thistuple = ("kiwi", "orange")
thislist.extend(thistuple)
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)

Python - Join Lists

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, which 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 - 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

Python Tuples

mytuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

Tuple

Tuples are used to store multiple items in a single variable.

Tuple is one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to store collections of data, the other 3
are List, Set, and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.

A tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable.

Tuples are written with round brackets.

Example

Create a Tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

print(thistuple)

Tuple Items

Tuple items are ordered, unchangeable, and allow duplicate values.

Tuple items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.
Ordered

When we say that tuples are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and that
order will not change.

Unchangeable

Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change, add or remove items after the
tuple has been created.

Allow Duplicates

Since tuples are indexed, they can have items with the same value:

Example

Tuples allow duplicate values:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple", "cherry")

print(thistuple)

Tuple Length

To determine how many items a tuple has, use the len() function:

Example

Print the number of items in the tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

print(len(thistuple))

Create Tuple With One Item

To create a tuple with only one item, you have to add a comma after the item, otherwise
Python will not recognize it as a tuple.

Example

One item tuple, remember the comma:

thistuple = ("apple",)
print(type(thistuple))

#NOT a tuple
thistuple = ("apple")
print(type(thistuple))
Tuple Items - Data Types

Tuple items can be of any data type:

Example

String, int and boolean data types:

tuple1 = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

tuple2 = (1, 5, 7, 9, 3)
tuple3 = (True, False, False)

A tuple can contain different data types:

Example

A tuple with strings, integers and boolean values:

tuple1 = ("abc", 34, True, 40, "male")

Python - Access Tuple Items

You can access tuple items by referring to the index number, inside square brackets:

Example

Print the second item in the tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

print(thistuple[1])

Note: The first item has index 0.

Python - Update Tuples

Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that you cannot change, add, or remove items once the
tuple is created.

But there are some workarounds.

Change Tuple Values

Once a tuple is created, you cannot change its values. Tuples are unchangeable,
or immutable as it also is called.

But there is a workaround. You can convert the tuple into a list, change the list, and convert
the list back into a tuple.

Example

Convert the tuple into a list to be able to change it:

x = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
y = list(x)
y[1] = "kiwi"
x = tuple(y)

print(x)

Add Items

Since tuples are immutable, they do not have a build-in append() method, but there are other
ways to add items to a tuple.

1. Convert into a list: Just like the workaround for changing a tuple, you can convert it into
a list, add your item(s), and convert it back into a tuple.

Example

Convert the tuple into a list, add "orange", and convert it back into a tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

y = list(thistuple)
y.append("orange")
thistuple = tuple(y)

2. Add tuple to a tuple. You are allowed to add tuples to tuples, so if you want to add one
item, (or many), create a new tuple with the item(s), and add it to the existing tuple:

Example

Create a new tuple with the value "orange", and add that tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

y = ("orange",)
thistuple += y

print(thistuple)

Note: When creating a tuple with only one item, remember to include a comma after the
item, otherwise it will not be identified as a tuple.

Remove Items

Note: You cannot remove items in a tuple.

Tuples are unchangeable, so you cannot remove items from it, but you can use the same
workaround as we used for changing and adding tuple items:
Example

Convert the tuple into a list, remove "apple", and convert it back into a tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

y = list(thistuple)
y.remove("apple")
thistuple = tuple(y)

Or you can delete the tuple completely:

Example

The del keyword can delete the tuple completely:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

del thistuple
print(thistuple) #this will raise an error because the tuple no longer exists

Python - Join Tuples

Join Two Tuples

To join two or more tuples you can use the + operator:

Example

Join two tuples:

tuple1 = ("a", "b" , "c")

tuple2 = (1, 2, 3)

tuple3 = tuple1 + tuple2

print(tuple3)

Multiply Tuples

If you want to multiply the content of a tuple a given number of times, you can use
the * operator:

Example

Multiply the fruits tuple by 2:

fruits = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

mytuple = fruits * 2
print(mytuple)

Python Dictionaries

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}

Python Dictionary
Dictionaries are used to store data values in key:value pairs.

A dictionary is a collection which is ordered*, changeable and do not allow duplicates.

Dictionaries are written with curly brackets, and have keys and values:

Example

Create and print a dictionary:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
print(thisdict)

Dictionary Items

Dictionary items are ordered, changeable, and does not allow duplicates.

Dictionary items are presented in key:value pairs, and can be referred to by using the key
name.

Example

Print the "brand" value of the dictionary:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
print(thisdict["brand"])

Ordered or Unordered?

When we say that dictionaries are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and
that order will not change.

Unordered means that the items does not have a defined order, you cannot refer to an item by
using an index.

Changeable

Dictionaries are changeable, meaning that we can change, add or remove items after the
dictionary has been created.

Duplicates Not Allowed

Dictionaries cannot have two items with the same key:

Example

Duplicate values will overwrite existing values:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964,
"year": 2020
}
print(thisdict)

Dictionary Length

To determine how many items a dictionary has, use the len() function:

Example

Print the number of items in the dictionary:

print(len(thisdict))

Dictionary Items - Data Types

The values in dictionary items can be of any data type:

Example

String, int, boolean, and list data types:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"electric": False,
"year": 1964,
"colors": ["red", "white", "blue"]
}

type()

From Python's perspective, dictionaries are defined as objects with the data type 'dict':

<class 'dict'>

Example

Print the data type of a dictionary:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
print(type(thisdict))

Python - Access Dictionary Items

Accessing Items

You can access the items of a dictionary by referring to its key name, inside square brackets:

Example

Get the value of the "model" key:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
x = thisdict["model"]
There is also a method called get() that will give you the same result:

Example

Get the value of the "model" key:

x = thisdict.get("model")
Get Keys

The keys() method will return a list of all the keys in the dictionary.

Example

Get a list of the keys:

x = thisdict.keys()

The list of the keys is a view of the dictionary, meaning that any changes done to the
dictionary will be reflected in the keys list.

Example

Add a new item to the original dictionary, and see that the keys list gets updated as well:

car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}

x = car.keys()

print(x) #before the change

car["color"] = "white"

print(x) #after the change

Get Values

The values() method will return a list of all the values in the dictionary.

Example

Get a list of the values:

x = thisdict.values()

The list of the values is a view of the dictionary, meaning that any changes done to the
dictionary will be reflected in the values list.

Example

Make a change in the original dictionary, and see that the values list gets updated as well:
car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}

x = car.values()

print(x) #before the change

car["year"] = 2020

print(x) #after the change

Example

Add a new item to the original dictionary, and see that the values list gets updated as well:

car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}

x = car.values()

print(x) #before the change

car["color"] = "red"

print(x) #after the change

Get Items

The items() method will return each item in a dictionary, as tuples in a list.

Example

Get a list of the key:value pairs

x = thisdict.items()

The returned list is a view of the items of the dictionary, meaning that any changes done to
the dictionary will be reflected in the items list.

Example
Make a change in the original dictionary, and see that the items list gets updated as well:

car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}

x = car.items()

print(x) #before the change

car["year"] = 2020

print(x) #after the change

Example

Add a new item to the original dictionary, and see that the items list gets updated as well:

car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}

x = car.items()

print(x) #before the change

car["color"] = "red"

print(x) #after the change

Check if Key Exists

To determine if a specified key is present in a dictionary use the in keyword:

Example

Check if "model" is present in the dictionary:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
if "model" in thisdict:
print("Yes, 'model' is one of the keys in the thisdict dictionary")

Python - Change Dictionary Items

Change Values

You can change the value of a specific item by referring to its key name:

Example

Change the "year" to 2018:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict["year"] = 2018

Update Dictionary

The update() method will update the dictionary with the items from the given argument.

The argument must be a dictionary, or an iterable object with key:value pairs.

Example

Update the "year" of the car by using the update() method:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.update({"year": 2020})

Python - Add Dictionary Items

Adding Items

Adding an item to the dictionary is done by using a new index key and assigning a value to
it:

Example
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
 "model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict["color"] = "red"
print(thisdict)

Update Dictionary

The update() method will update the dictionary with the items from a given argument. If the
item does not exist, the item will be added.

The argument must be a dictionary, or an iterable object with key:value pairs.

Example

Add a color item to the dictionary by using the update() method:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.update({"color": "red"})

Python - Remove Dictionary Items

Removing Items

There are several methods to remove items from a dictionary:

Example

The pop() method removes the item with the specified key name:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.pop("model")
print(thisdict)

Example

The popitem() method removes the last inserted item (in versions before 3.7, a random item
is removed instead):

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
 "model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.popitem()
print(thisdict)

Example

The del keyword removes the item with the specified key name:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
del thisdict["model"]
print(thisdict)

Example

The del keyword can also delete the dictionary completely:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
del thisdict
print(thisdict) #this will cause an error because "thisdict" no longer exists.

Example

The clear() method empties the dictionary:

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.clear()
print(thisdict)