Python List Methods

Lists in Python have many built-in methods that you can use to modify or manipulate the list. Here are some of the most commonly used methods:

append() – It is used to add an element to the end of the list.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Add an element to the end of the list
my_list.append('date')

# Print the updated list
print(my_list)

extend() – It is used to add the elements of another list to the end of the list or to combine two lists.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana']

# Extend the list with a tuple
my_list.extend(('cherry', 'date'))

# Extend the list with a set
my_list.extend({'elderberry', 'fig'})

# Print the updated list
print(my_list)

insert() – It is used to insert an element at a specific position in the list.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Insert an element at index 1
my_list.insert(1, 'date')

# Print the updated list
print(my_list)

4. remove() – It is used to remove the first occurrence of an element from the list.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'banana']

# Remove the first occurrence of 'banana'
my_list.remove('banana')

# Print the updated list
print(my_list)

pop() – It removes and returns the element at a specific position in the list.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Remove and return the last element
removed_element = my_list.pop()

# Print the updated list and the removed element
print("Updated list:", my_list)
print("Removed element:", removed_element)

6. sort() – It sorts the elements of the list in ascending order.

# Define a list of numbers
my_list = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]

# Sort the list in descending order
my_list.sort(reverse=True)

# Print the sorted list
print(my_list)

7 .reverse() – It reverses the order of the elements in the list.

# Define a list of strings
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Reverse the list
my_list.reverse()

# Print the reversed list
print(my_list)

clear() – It is used to remove all elements from a list, effectively emptying the list. After the clear() function is applied to a list, the list becomes empty with a length of 0.

# Define a list of strings
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Clear all elements from the list
my_list.clear()

# Print the cleared list
print(my_list)

copy() – It creates a shallow copy of a list. The shallow copy means that a new list is created with the same elements as the original list, but the elements themselves are not duplicated. Any changes made to the elements in the copied list will also affect the original list, and vice versa.

# Define a list with immutable elements
my_list = [1, 2, 3]

# Create a shallow copy of the list
my_list_copy = my_list.copy()

# Modify the copied list
my_list_copy.append(4)

# Print both lists
print("Original list:", my_list)
print("Copied list:", my_list_copy)

index() – It is used to find the index of the first occurrence of a specified element within a list. If the element is not found in the list, it raises a ValueError.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Find the index of 'banana'
index_of_banana = my_list.index('banana')

# Print the index
print("Index of 'banana':", index_of_banana)

count() – It is used to count the number of occurrences of a specified element in a list.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'banana', 'apple']

# Count occurrences of 'banana'
banana_count = my_list.count('banana')

# Print the count
print("Count of 'banana':", banana_count)

Updating list values:

Lists in Python are mutable, and their values can be updated by using the slice and assignment the ( = ) operator.

# Define a list
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Remove elements at indices 1 to 3
my_list[1:4] = []

# Print the updated list
print(my_list)

Built-in function for Python lists:

Here are some examples of commonly used built-in functions for lists in Python:

len(): It returns the length of the list.

# Define a list
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Get the length of the list
list_length = len(my_list)

# Print the length
print("Length of the list:", list_length)

max(): It returns the largest element in the list.

# Define a list of numbers
my_list = [1, 5, 3, 9, 2]

# Get the largest element in the list
largest_element = max(my_list)

# Print the largest element
print("Largest element:", largest_element)

min(): It returns the smallest element in the list.

# Define a list of numbers
my_list = [10, 5, 20, 3, 8]

# Get the smallest element in the list
smallest_element = min(my_list)

# Print the smallest element
print("Smallest element:", smallest_element)

sum(): It returns the sum of all elements in the list.

# Define a list of numbers
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Calculate the sum of the elements in the list
total_sum = sum(my_list)

# Print the total sum
print("Sum of the list:", total_sum)

5. sorted(): It returns a new sorted list.

# Define a list of numbers
my_list = [5, 2, 9, 1, 5, 6]

# Get a new sorted list
sorted_list = sorted(my_list)

# Print the sorted list
print("Sorted list:", sorted_list)

list(): It converts an iterable to a list.

# Define a tuple
my_tuple = (1, 2, 3, 4)

# Convert the tuple to a list
my_list = list(my_tuple)

# Print the list
print("List from tuple:", my_list)

7. any(): It returns True if at least one element in the list is True.

# Define a list of Boolean values
my_list = [False, False, True, False]

# Check if any element is True
result = any(my_list)

# Print the result
print("Any True in the list:", result)

all(): It returns True if all elements in the list are True.

# Define a list of Boolean values
my_list = [True, True, True]

# Check if all elements are True
result = all(my_list)

# Print the result
print("All True in the list:", result)

9. enumerate(): It returns an iterator that contains tuples of (index, element) pairs.

# Define a list
my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

# Use enumerate to get index and element
for index, element in enumerate(my_list):
    print(f"Index: {index}, Element: {element}")

# Output:

Index: 0, Element: apple
Index: 1, Element: banana
Index: 2, Element: cherry

zip(): It returns an iterator that aggregates elements from multiple lists into tuples.

# Define two lists
list1 = [1, 2, 3]
list2 = ['a', 'b', 'c']

# Use zip to combine them into tuples
zipped = zip(list1, list2)

# Convert the zipped object to a list and print
zipped_list = list(zipped)
print(zipped_list)

11.reversed(): It returns a reverse iterator that can be used to iterate over a list in reverse order.

# Define a list
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Convert the reversed iterator to a list
reversed_list = list(reversed(my_list))

# Print the reversed list
print(reversed_list)

Python List Methods And Functions

Python List Methods

Updating list values:

Built-in function for Python lists:

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