Introduction
Hello, and welcome back to our Python tutorial series on CipherTrick.com! Today, we’ll be introducing you to Python’s built-in data structures. Data structures are a way of organizing and storing data so that they can be accessed and worked with efficiently. Python has several built-in data structures, namely lists, tuples, sets, and dictionaries.
Part 1: Lists
Lists are a type of data structure that holds an ordered collection of items, which means you can access the items of a list in a specific order. This order does not sort the items in any particular manner but preserves the sequence of their arrival in the list. Lists allow you to hold a sequence of items in a single variable, which can be of mixed types (integers, strings, etc.).
# List creation
list_num = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
list_str = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
Part 2: Tuples
Tuples are another sequence data type that is similar to a list. They consist of a number of values separated by commas. Unlike lists, however, tuples are immutable, meaning you can’t change elements of a tuple once it’s defined.
# Tuple creation
tuple_num = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
tuple_str = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
Part 3: Sets
A Set is an unordered collection data type that is iterable, mutable, and has no duplicate elements. Python’s set class represents the mathematical notion of a set. The primary usage of sets in Python is to remove duplicate elements from a list or tuple and to perform common math operations like union and intersection.
# Set creation
set_num = {1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5}
set_str = {"apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple"}
Part 4: Dictionaries
A Dictionary in Python works similarly to the Dictionary in the real world. Python Dictionary is an unordered collection of data values that are used to store data values like a map. Unlike other Data Types that hold only a single value as an element, a Python dictionary holds a key: value pair.
# Dictionary creation
dict_sample = {"name": "Alice", "age": 20, "city": "New York"}
Conclusion
Understanding these data structures is essential for any Python programmer. Python’s built-in data structures, combined with its high-level programming capabilities, make it a powerful tool for solving complex problems. In our upcoming tutorials, we will dive deeper into each of these data structures and learn how they can be used in Python. Until then, keep practicing, and happy coding!