ESSENTIAL PYTHON METHODS

EVERY DEVELOPER SHOULD KNOW

LIST METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
append() Adds an element at the end of the list. [1, 2, 3, 4]
[Link](4)

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
clear() Removes all the elements from the list. []
[Link]()

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
copy() Returns a shallow copy of the list. [1, 2, 3]
new_list = [Link]()

Returns the number of occurrences of a numbers = [1, 2, 2, 2, 3]

count() 3
specified value. print([Link](2))

Adds elements of an iterable (like numbers = [1, 2, 3]

extend() [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
another list) to the end of the list. [Link]([4, 5])

Returns the index of the first occurrence numbers = [10, 20, 30, 20]
index() 1
of a specified value. print([Link](20))

Inserts an element at a specified numbers = [1, 2, 4]

insert() [1, 2, 3, 4]
position. [Link](2, 3)

Removes and returns the element at a numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]

pop() [1, 2, 3]
specified position (default is last). [Link]()

Removes the first occurrence of a numbers= [1, 2, 3, 2]

remove() [1, 3, 2]
specified value. [Link](2)

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
reverse() Reverses the order of the list in place. [3, 2, 1]
[Link]()

Sorts the list in ascending order (or numbers = [3, 1, 4, 2]

sort() [1, 2, 3, 4]
based on a custom function). [Link]()

[Link]
SET METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
add() Inserts an element into the set. {1, 2, 3, 4}
[Link](4)

Removes all elements, leaving set1 = {1, 2, 3}

clear() set()
the set empty. [Link]()

Creates and returns a duplicate set1 = {1, 2, 3}

copy() {1, 2, 3}
of the set. set2 = [Link]()

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
Returns elements present in one
difference() set2 = {3, 4, 5} {1, 2}
set but not in another.
[Link](set2)

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
difference_up Removes elements found in
set2 = {2, 3, 4} {1}
date() another set from the current set.
set1.difference_update(set2)

Removes a specified element if it set1 = {1, 2, 3}

discard() {1, 3}
exists; no error if absent. [Link](2)

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
Returns elements common to
intersection() set2 = {2, 3, 4} {2, 3}
multiple sets.
[Link](set2)

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
intersection_ Updates the set with elements
set2 = {2, 3, 4} {2, 3}
update() common to all sets.
set1.intersection_update(set2)

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
Returns True if two sets have no
isdisjoint() set2 = {4, 5, 6} True
elements in common.
[Link](set2)

set1 = {1, 2}
Checks if all elements of one set
issubset() set2 = {1, 2, 3, 4} True
are in another.
[Link](set2)

set1 = {1, 2, 3, 4}
Checks if the current set
issuperset() set2 = {1, 2} True
contains all elements of another.
[Link](set2)

[Link]
SET METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

Removes and returns an (Random element

set1 = {10, 20, 30}
pop() arbitrary element from the removed, e.g.,) 10
[Link]())
set. and {20, 30}

Deletes a specified element; set1 = {1, 2, 3}

remove() {1, 3}
raises an error if not found. [Link](2)

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
symmetric_ Returns elements unique to
set2 = {3, 4, 5} {1, 2, 4, 5}
difference() each set (not in both).
set1.symmetric_difference(set2)

symmetric_ Updates the set with set1 = {1, 2, 3}

difference_ elements unique to either set2 = {3, 4, 5} {1, 2, 4, 5}
update() set. set1.symmetric_difference_update(set2)

set1 = {1, 2, 3}
Returns all elements from
union() set2 = {3, 4, 5} {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
both sets without duplicates.
[Link](set2)

Adds all elements from set1 = {1, 2, 3}

update() another set to the current set2 = {4, 5} {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
one. [Link](set2)

[Link]
DICTIONARY METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

Deletes all key-value pairs, dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

clear() {}
making the dictionary empty. [Link]()

Creates and returns a duplicate dict1 = {'x': 10, 'y': 20}

copy() {'x': 10, 'y': 20}
of the dictionary. dict2 = [Link]()

Creates a new dictionary with keys = ['a', 'b', 'c']

fromkeys() specified keys, assigning a dict1 = [Link](keys, 0) {'a': 0, 'b': 0, 'c': 0}
common default value. print(dict1)

Retrieves the value associated dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}

get() with a key; returns None if the print([Link]('b')) 2 and None
key is absent. print([Link]('c'))

Returns all dictionary entries as dict_items([('a', 1),

items() dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2} [Link]()
key-value tuple pairs. ('b', 2)])

Provides a view containing all the dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

keys() dict_keys(['a', 'b', 'c'])
keys in the dictionary. print([Link]())

dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

Removes a key-value pair by key
pop() print([Link]('b')) 2 and {'a': 1, 'c': 3}
and returns its value.
print(dict1)

dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

Removes and returns the most ('c', 3) and
popitem() print([Link]())
recently added key-value pair. {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
print(dict1)

Returns the value of a key; if dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}

2, 5, and
setdefault() missing, inserts it with a print([Link]('b', 5))
{'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 5}
specified default. print([Link]('c', 5))

Merges another dictionary or dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}

iterable into the existing dict2 = {'b': 3, 'c': 4}
update() {'a': 1, 'b': 3, 'c': 4}
dictionary, updating keys if they [Link](dict2)
exist. print(dict1)

Returns a view object containing dict1 = {'x': 10, 'y': 20, 'z': 30} dict_values([10, 20,
values()
all dictionary values. print([Link]()) 30])

[Link]
DICTIONARY METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

Deletes all key-value pairs, dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

clear() {}
making the dictionary empty. [Link]()

Creates and returns a duplicate dict1 = {'x': 10, 'y': 20}

copy() {'x': 10, 'y': 20}
of the dictionary. dict2 = [Link]()

Creates a new dictionary with keys = ['a', 'b', 'c']

fromkeys() specified keys, assigning a dict1 = [Link](keys, 0) {'a': 0, 'b': 0, 'c': 0}
common default value. print(dict1)

Retrieves the value associated dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}

get() with a key; returns None if the print([Link]('b')) 2 and None
key is absent. print([Link]('c'))

Returns all dictionary entries as dict_items([('a', 1),

items() dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2} [Link]()
key-value tuple pairs. ('b', 2)])

Provides a view containing all the dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

keys() dict_keys(['a', 'b', 'c'])
keys in the dictionary. print([Link]())

dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

Removes a key-value pair by key
pop() print([Link]('b')) 2 and {'a': 1, 'c': 3}
and returns its value.
print(dict1)

dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

Removes and returns the most ('c', 3) and
popitem() print([Link]())
recently added key-value pair. {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
print(dict1)

Returns the value of a key; if dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}

2, 5, and
setdefault() missing, inserts it with a print([Link]('b', 5))
{'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 5}
specified default. print([Link]('c', 5))

Merges another dictionary or dict1 = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}

iterable into the existing dict2 = {'b': 3, 'c': 4}
update() {'a': 1, 'b': 3, 'c': 4}
dictionary, updating keys if they [Link](dict2)
exist. print(dict1)

Returns a view object containing dict1 = {'x': 10, 'y': 20, 'z': 30} dict_values([10, 20,
values()
all dictionary values. print([Link]()) 30])

[Link]
STRING METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

Converts the first letter of the str1 = "intensity coding" Intensity

capitalize()
string to uppercase. print([Link]()) coding

Converts the string to lowercase

casefold() str1 = "PYTHON" print([Link]()) python
for case-insensitive comparisons.

Aligns the string at the center with str1 = "AI"

center() **AI**
specified width. print([Link](6, '*'))

Counts occurrences of a substring str1 = "machine learning machine"

count() 2
in the string. print([Link]("machine"))

Returns the encoded version of the str1 = "AI"

encode() b'AI'
string. print([Link]())

Checks if the string ends with a str1 = "deep learning"

endswith() True
specific substring. print([Link]("learning"))

str1 = "A\tB\tC"
expandtabs() Sets the tab size within the string. A B C
print([Link](4))

Returns the index of the first str1 = "intensity coding"

find() 10
occurrence of a substring. print([Link]("coding"))

Formats specified values in the python str1 = "Hello, {}!".format("AI")

format() Hello, AI!
string. print(str1)

info = {'name': 'AI'}

Similar to format(), but uses a
format_map() str1 = "Hello,{name}!".format_map(info) Hello, AI!
mapping object.
print(str1)

Returns index of substring; raises str1 = "machine"

index() 4
error if not found. print([Link]("ine"))

Checks if all characters are str1 = "AI2025"

isalnum() True
alphanumeric. print([Link]())

Checks if all characters are str1 = "AI"

isalpha() True
alphabetic. print([Link]())

Returns True if all characters are str1 = "AI"

isascii() True
ASCII. print([Link]())

[Link]
STRING METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

Checks if all characters are str1 = "123"

isdecimal() True
decimal digits. print([Link]())

Checks if all characters are str1 = "12345"

isdigit() True
digits. print([Link]())

Validates if string is a valid str1 = "variable_name"

isidentifier() True
Python identifier. print([Link]())

Checks if all letters are str1 = "intensity"

islower() True
lowercase. print([Link]())

Checks if all characters str1 = "2025"

isnumeric() True
represent numeric values. print([Link]())

Returns True if all characters are str1 = "AI ML"

isprintable() True
printable. print([Link]())

Checks if the string contains only str1 = " "

isspace() True
whitespace. print([Link]())

Checks if the string follows title str1 = "Machine Learning"

istitle() True
case. print([Link]())

Checks if all letters are str1 = "AI"

isupper() True
uppercase. print([Link]())

Joins iterable elements using the str1 = "-"

join() AI-ML-DL
string as separator. print([Link](['AI', 'ML', 'DL']))

Left-aligns the string in specified str1 = "AI"

ljust() AI****
width. print([Link](6, '*'))

str1 = "INTENSITY"
lower() Converts all letters to lowercase. intensity
print([Link]())

str1 = " AI" <br>

lstrip() Removes leading whitespace. 'AI'
print([Link]())

trans = [Link]('A', 'I')

Generates a translation table for
maketrans() str1 = "AI" II
replacement.
print([Link](trans))

[Link]
STRING METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

Splits string into 3 parts using a str1 = "AI-ML-DL"

partition() ('AI', '-', 'ML-DL')
separator. print([Link]('-'))

Replaces occurrences of a str1 = "AI ML AI"

replace() DL ML DL
substring. print([Link]("AI", "DL"))

Finds last occurrence of str1 = "AI ML AI"

rfind() 6
substring. print([Link]("AI"))

Returns last index of substring; str1 = "AI ML AI"

rindex() 6
raises error if not found. print([Link]("AI"))

Right-aligns the string within str1 = "AI"

rjust() ****AI
specified width. print([Link](6, '*'))

Splits string into 3 parts, str1 = "AI-ML-DL"

rpartition() ('AI-ML', '-', 'DL')
searching from end. print([Link]('-'))

Splits string from the right using str1 = "AI,ML,DL"

rsplit() ['AI,ML', 'DL']
a separator. print([Link](' , ', 1))

str1 = "AI "

rstrip() Removes trailing whitespace. 'AI'
print([Link]())

Splits string into a list based on str1 = "AI ML DL"

split() ['AI', 'ML', 'DL']
separator. print([Link]())

str1 = "AI\nML\nDL"
splitlines() Splits string at line breaks. ['AI', 'ML', 'DL']
print([Link]())

Checks if string starts with a str1 = "AI ML"

startswith() True
specific substring. print([Link]("AI"))

Removes leading and trailing str1 = " AI ML "

strip() 'AI ML'
whitespace. print([Link]())

Swaps lowercase to uppercase str1 = "Ai Ml"

swapcase() aI mL
and vice versa. print([Link]())

Converts first letter of each word str1 = "intensity coding"

title() Intensity Coding
to uppercase. print([Link]())

[Link]
STRING METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

trans = [Link]({'A': '@', 'I': '1'})

Modifies string using a
translate() str1 = "AI" @1
translation table.
print([Link](trans))

str1 = "ai ml"

upper() Converts string to uppercase. AI ML
print([Link]())

Pads string with leading zeros to str1 = "42"

zfill() 00042
reach desired width. print([Link](5))

TUPLE METHODS
Method Description Code Example Output

Returns the number of times a specified number_tup = (1, 2, 2, 3, 2)

count() 3
value appears in a tuple. print(number_tup.count(2))

Searches for a specified value and number_tup = (10, 20, 30, 20)
index() 2
returns its position (index). print(number_tup.index(30))

[Link]
PYTHON BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS
Function Description Code Example Output

Returns the absolute (non-negative)

abs() print(abs(-10)) 10
value of a number.

Returns True if all elements in an

all() print(all([1, True, 5])) True
iterable are true.

Returns True if at least one element

any() print(any([0, False, 3])) True
in an iterable is true.

Converts object to a string,

ascii() print(ascii("Intensity©")) 'Intensity\\u00a9'
escaping non-ASCII chars.

Converts an integer to a binary

bin() print(bin(10)) '0b1010'
string.

Converts a value to a Boolean (True

bool() print(bool(0)) False
or False).

b = bytearray([65, 66,
bytearray() Creates a mutable array of bytes. bytearray(b'ABC')
67])print(b)

bytes() Creates an immutable bytes object. print(bytes("Hi", "utf-8")) b'Hi'

Checks if an object can be called

callable() print(callable(print)) True
like a function.

Returns the character for a Unicode

chr() print(chr(65)) A
code point.

class Demo:
@classmethod
Converts a method into a class
classmethod() def show(cls): Class Method
method.
print("Class Method")
[Link]()

Compiles code string into a code code = compile('3+5', '', 'eval')

compile() 8
object. print(eval(code))

complex() Creates a complex number. print(complex(2, 3)) (2+3j)

[Link]
PYTHON BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS
Function Description Code Example Output

class A:
Deletes an attribute from an x=10
delattr() False
object. delattr(A,'x')
print(hasattr(A,'x'))

dict() Creates a dictionary object. print(dict(a=1,b=2)) {'a':1,'b':2}

['__add__',
Lists attributes and
dir() print(dir([ ])[:3]) '__class__',
methods of an object.
'__contains__']

Returns quotient and

divmod() print(divmod(10,3)) (3,1)
remainder as tuple.

Adds index numbers to for i,v in enumerate(['a','b']):

enumerate() 0 a1 b
iterable elements. print(i,v)

Evaluates a string as Python

eval() print(eval('5*3')) 15
expression.

Executes Python code

exec() exec('x=5;print(x)') 5
dynamically.

nums=[1,2,3,4]
Filters elements using a
filter() even=list(filter(lambda x:x%2==0,nums)) [2,4]
condition.
print(even)

float() Converts a value to a float. print(float(5)) 5.0

Formats a value according

format() print(format(3.14159,'.2f')) 3.14
to a format specifier.

s=frozenset([1,2,3])
frozenset() Creates an immutable set. frozenset({1,2,3})
print(s)

class A:
Retrieves the value of an
getattr() x=42 42
object’s attribute.
print(getattr(A,'x'))

['__name__',
Returns the global symbol
globals() print(list(globals().keys())[:3]) '__doc__',
table as a dictionary.
'__package__']

[Link]
PYTHON BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS
Function Description Code Example Output

class A:
Checks if an object has a specific
hasattr() x=10 True
attribute.
print(hasattr(A,'x'))

hash() Returns the hash value of an object. print(hash('intensity')) (varies)

Displays documentation for a (Opens help

help() help(len)
module, class, or function. text)

Converts an integer to hexadecimal

hex() print(hex(255)) '0xff'
format.

x=10; (unique
id() Returns the unique ID of an object.
print(id(x)) integer)

input() Reads a line of input from the user. input("Enter name: ") (User input)

int() Converts a value to an integer. print(int(5.9)) 5

Checks if an object is an instance

isinstance() print(isinstance(5,int)) True
of a class/type.

class A:
pass
Checks if a class is a subclass of
issubclass() class B(A): True
another class.
pass
print(issubclass(B,A))

it=iter([1,2])
iter() Converts an iterable into an iterator. 1
print(next(it))

Returns the number of items in an

len() print(len([1,2,3])) 3
object.

list() Creates a list from an iterable. print(list('AI')) ['A','I']

def test():
Returns the current local symbol x=5
locals() {'x':5}
table. print(locals())
test()

Applies a function to all items in an nums=[1,2,3]

map() [2,4,6]
iterable. print(list(map(lambda x:x*2,nums)))

[Link]
PYTHON BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS
Function Description Code Example Output

max() Returns the largest item in an iterable. print(max([1,5,3])) 5

Returns a memory view object of a v=memoryview(b'abc')

memoryview() 97
bytes-like object. print(v[0])

min() Returns the smallest item in an iterable. print(min([1,5,3])) 1

it=iter([10,20])
next() Returns the next item from an iterator. 10
print(next(it))

o=object(); <class
object() Returns a new featureless object.
print(type(o)) 'object'>

Converts an integer to octal string

oct() print(oct(8)) '0o10'
format.

f=open('[Link]','w')
open() Opens a file and returns a file object. [Link]('Hi') (Creates file)
[Link]()

Converts a character to its Unicode

ord() print(ord('A')) 65
code point.

pow() Computes power (xʸ). print(pow(2,3)) 8

Intensity
print() Outputs text to the console. print("Intensity Coding")
Coding

class A:
def __init__(self):
self._x=5
property() Returns a property object for a class. 5
x=property(lambda
self:self._x)
print(A().x)

range() Generates a sequence of numbers. print(list(range(3))) [0,1,2]

Returns a string that represents an

repr() print(repr('AI')) "'AI'"
object.

Returns an iterator that accesses

reversed() print(list(reversed([1,2,3]))) [3,2,1]
sequence in reverse.

[Link]
PYTHON BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS
Function Description Code Example Output

round() Rounds a number to given decimals. print(round(3.1415,2)) 3.14

set() Creates a new set object. print(set([1,2,2,3])) {1,2,3}

class A:
pass
setattr() Sets an attribute on an object. a=A(); 100
setattr(a,'x',100)
print(a.x)

s='Python';
slice() Creates a slice object for slicing sequences. 'Pyt'
print(s[slice(0,3)])

sorted() Returns a sorted list from an iterable. print(sorted([3,1,2])) [1,2,3]

class A:
@staticmethod
Defines a static method (no access to
staticmethod() def show(): Static
class/instance).
print('Static')
[Link]()

str() Converts a value to string. print(str(123)) '123'

sum() Returns the sum of iterable elements. print(sum([1,2,3])) 6

class A:
def show(self):
print('A')
super() Returns proxy object for parent class. class B(A): A
def show(self):
super().show()
B().show()

tuple() Creates a tuple from an iterable. print(tuple([1,2])) (1,2)

type() Returns type/class of object. print(type(10)) <class 'int'>

class A:
{'__module__'
vars() Returns __dict__ of an object. x=1
:..., 'x':1, ...}
print(vars(A))

zip() Combines iterables into tuples. print(list(zip([1,2],[3,4]))) [(1,3),(2,4)]

[Link]
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