Can you differentiate between a List and a Tuple?

Bernard Aybout (Virii8)

2 years ago

Table of Contents

3 Minutes Read

List vs Tuple in Python

In programming, particularly in Python, lists and tuples are used to store collections of items. They have key differences:

List: Lists are mutable, meaning they can be modified after creation (change, add, or remove elements).
Tuple: Tuples are immutable. Once created, they cannot be altered.

List: Defined using square brackets, e.g., my_list = [1, 2, 3].
Tuple: Defined using parentheses, e.g., my_tuple = (1, 2, 3). A single element tuple requires a trailing comma: (1,).

List: Used for collections of similar items that may need modification. Suitable where order is important and contents might change.
Tuple: Used for heterogenous data and for data that should not change. Commonly used for data passing where modification is not desired.

List: Slightly slower than tuples in some contexts due to flexibility and mutability.
Tuple: Smaller memory footprint and more efficient performance, particularly with large amounts of data.

List: Has several built-in methods like append(), remove(), pop(), etc., for versatile manipulation.
Tuple: Fewer built-in methods due to immutability. Methods like count() and index() are available.