Introduction to Lists

Declaring Lists

Declaring a list in Python is easy. All you have to do is enclose the list within square brackets and separating each item with a comma and in most cases, assign it to a variable. Python makes it very easy to print the entire list - simply print the variable that holds the string.

            # Declaring a List
            list = ['DBZ', 'Arrested Development', 'The Simpsons', 'Breaking Bad']
            # Printing to console
            print(list)
        

            ['DBZ', 'Arrested Development', 'The Simpsons', 'Breaking Bad']
        

List Indices

Every element in a list is assigned non-negative integer called an index. The first element is given an index of 0. This is a point of a lot of confusion for students as they'll start counting the elements from one. Below is a visual representation of a list with the indices.

We can use the index of an element to access its value in the following manner:

            # Declaring a List
            list = ['DBZ', 'Arrested Development', 'The Simpsons', 'Breaking Bad']
            # Accessing Elements with Indices
            print(list[0])
            print(list[1])
            print(list[2])
            print(list[3])
            

            DBZ
            Arrested Development
            The Simpsons
            Breaking Bad
            
          

Accessing Elements in a List

We can access elements in a list by supplying the list name followed by the index of the desired element enclosed in square brackets. We can even even call methods after accessing a specific element as shown below:

          shows = ['DBZ', 'Arrested Development', 'The Simpsons', 'Breaking Bad']
          print(shows)
          print(shows[1])
          print(shows[1].upper())

> ['DBZ', 'Arrested Development', 'The Simpsons', 'Breaking Bad']
> Arrested Development
> ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

Using List Elements in Strings

We can also use values stored in a list in a string in a formatted string. Notice the difference in output when you supply the list name by itself as opposed to the list name with an index.

  shows = ['DBZ', 'Arrested Development', 'The Simpsons', 'Breaking Bad']
  # Different parts of a list.
  print(f'My favorite shows are {shows}.')
  # Insert newline
  print('\n')
  print(f'My favorite show is {show[1]}!')

  My favorite shows are ['DBZ', 'Arrested Development', 'The Simpsons', 'Breaking Bad'].

  My favorite show is Arrested Development!