Python - Access List Items
Access Items
List items are indexed and you can access them by referring to the index number:
Example
Print the second item of the list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(thislist[1])
Note: The first item has index 0.
Negative Indexing
Negative indexing means start from the end
-1 refers to the last item, -2 refers to the second last item etc.
Example
Print the last item of the list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(thislist[-1])
Range of Indexes
You can specify a range of indexes by specifying where to start and where to end the range.
When specifying a range, the return value will be a new list with the specified items.
Example
Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]
print(thislist[2:5])
Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).
Remember that the first item has index 0.
By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first item:
Example
This example returns the items from the beginning to, but NOT including, "kiwi":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]
print(thislist[:4])
By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of the list:
Example
This example returns the items from "cherry" to the end:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]
print(thislist[2:])
Range of Negative Indexes
Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the list:
Example
This example returns the items from "orange" (-4) to, but NOT including "mango" (-1):
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]
print(thislist[-4:-1])
Check if Item Exists
To determine if a specified item is present in a list use the in keyword:
Example
Check if "apple" is present in the list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
if "apple" in thislist:
print("Yes, 'apple' is in the fruits list")
Python - Change List Items
Change Item Value
To change the value of a specific item, refer to the index number:
Example
Change the second item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1] = "blackcurrant"
print(thislist)
Change a Range of Item Values
To change the value of items within a specific range, define a list with the new values, and refer to the
range of index numbers where you want to insert the new values:
Example
Change the values "banana" and "cherry" with the values "blackcurrant" and "watermelon":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "mango"]
thislist[1:3] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)
If you insert more items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you specified, and the
remaining items will move accordingly:
Example
Change the second value by replacing it with two new values:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1:2] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)
Note: The length of the list will change when the number of items inserted does not match the number
of items replaced.
If you insert less items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you specified, and the
remaining items will move accordingly:
Example
Change the second and third value by replacing it with one value:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1:3] = ["watermelon"]
print(thislist)
Insert Items
To insert a new list item, without replacing any of the existing values, we can use the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:
Example
Insert "watermelon" as the third item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[Link](2, "watermelon")
print(thislist)
Note: As a result of the example above, the list will now contain 4 items.
Exercise?
What will be the result of the following syntax:
mylist = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
mylist[0] = 'kiwi'
print(mylist[1])
Python - Add List Items
Append Items
To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:
Example
Using the append() method to append an item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[Link]("orange")
print(thislist)
Insert Items
To insert a list item at a specified index, use the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:
Example
Insert an item as the second position:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[Link](1, "orange")
print(thislist)
Note: As a result of the examples above, the lists will now contain 4 items.
Extend List
To append elements from another list to the current list, use the extend() method.
Example
Add the elements of tropical to thislist:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
tropical = ["mango", "pineapple", "papaya"]
[Link](tropical)
print(thislist)
The elements will be added to the end of the list.
Add Any Iterable
The extend() method does not have to appendlists, you can add any iterable object (tuples, sets,
dictionaries etc.).
Example
Add elements of a tuple to a list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thistuple = ("kiwi", "orange")
[Link](thistuple)
print(thislist)
Python - Remove List Items
Remove Specified Item
The remove() method removes the specified item.
Example
Remove "banana":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[Link]("banana")
print(thislist)
If there are more than one item with the specified value, the remove() method removes the first
occurrence:
Example
Remove the first occurrence of "banana":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "banana", "kiwi"]
[Link]("banana")
print(thislist)
Remove Specified Index
The pop() method removes the specified index.
Example
Remove the second item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[Link](1)
print(thislist)
If you do not specify the index, the pop() method removes the last item.
Example
Remove the last item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[Link]()
print(thislist)
The del keyword also removes the specified index:
Example
Remove the first item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
delthislist[0]
print(thislist)
The del keyword can also delete the list completely.
Example
Delete the entire list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
del thislist
Clear the List
The clear() method empties the list.
The list still remains, but it has no content.
Example
Clear the list content:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[Link]()
print(thislist)