List Vs. Tuple — Essential comparison to avoid Python neophyte’s mistakes.

Karthik
Variablz Academy
Published in
4 min readDec 20, 2022

List and Tuple are the classes of Python Data structure; they can store one or more objects or values in a specific order. The stored data can be of any data type, including the Nothing type defined by the None keyword.

To understand the difference between and when to use which, let’s revise the List and Tuples.

List:

We don’t have arrays in Python; instead, we have a List data type. The list is dynamic. So that we can modify it (Mutable), it is denoted by square brackets “[]”. It is a container that contains different types of objects and is used to iterate objects.

We can create a list using square brackets,

We can access the items in the list using indices,

We can overwrite/reassign an item in the list,

Tuple:

The tuple is similar to lists, but it is static, which means we cannot modify it (immutable). A set of parentheses denotes the tuple in Python.

A tuple is created like this,

Accessing the tuple is the same as in the list; we have to use the indices.

Now we know about the basics of Lists and Tuple nature. Now, let’s look at the similarities between the List and Tuple and then at the differences.

Similarities between List and Tuple:

As we discussed above, the list and tuple are similar, and they share the same feature, which we are going to cover below,

  • Tuple and list can store empty, single, or multiple variables in a single array.
  • We can create a tuple or list with the same data types or a mixture of different data types.
  • A list or tuple can contain repeated values or duplicate items.
  • List and Tuple support unpacking.
  • We can access the items using indices in both list and tuple.
  • Some functions can be applied on both sides which are len(), max(), min(), sum(), any(), all(), sorted().
  • We can add a tuple in the list and a list in the tuple.

Now let’s talk about the difference between a List and Tuple.

Difference between List and Tuple:

  • We already saw that the syntax of both list and tuple is different, and the list is mutable, whereas the tuple is immutable.
  • List iteration time is slower and is time-consuming compared to the tuple.
  • A list consumes more memory, whereas a tuple consumes less.
  • The list provides many built-in functions than the tuple.
  • Lists are prone to make many errors, unlike tuple operations.
  • The list can perform operations like insertion and deletion, but a tuple is appropriate for read-only/accessing elements.

Use Cases:

Lists can replace tuples, but a tuple is a handy data structure in some practical cases.

· Use a tuple when you know what information goes into the container, for example, user credentials, a person detail, etc.,

· Use a list when you want to add similar elements or if you are likely to add/remove an information/item, for example, a shopping list, employee names.,

· Using a tuple can make a programmer/interpreter/tester understand that the data should not be changed.

Conclusion:

As we understand the list and tuple, choosing between them will be easy.

The significant difference is that a list is mutable, and a tuple is immutable.

Use a list when the lists grow or shrink throughout the program lifecycle, and use a tuple when you are sure that the data will not change in the program’s lifecycle.

Here I tried to make you comfortable with List and Tuple in Python. Let me know your thoughts in the comment, and I will catch up with another masterpiece soon; until then, adios!

Karthik Saravanan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthik-sa/

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Variablz Academy
Variablz Academy

Published in Variablz Academy

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