BEGINNER SERIES · SESSION 2

Python
Data Structures
for Beginners
List Tuple Dictionary Set

Organize and manage your data like a pro

Python Programming · Data Structures · Lists · Tuples · Dictionaries · Sets

 What are Data Structures? Dictionaries
01 04
Why we need them Key-value pair storage

WHAT
WE'LL Lists Sets

COVER 02
Ordered, mutable collections
05
Unique, unordered elements

Python Data Structures

Tuples Comparison & Use Cases
03 06
Ordered, immutable collections When to use which structure
01 What are Data Structures?

A data structure is a way to organize and store data in a computer so it can be accessed and modified efficiently.

List → Shopping Cart Tuple → GPS Coordinates

An ordered sequence of items you can add to, remove from, or

Fixed data that never changes: (lat, long) stays constant.
change.

Dictionary → Phone Book Set → Unique Tags

Look up a value (number) by a unique key (name). A collection of labels where duplicates are automatically removed.
02 Lists [ ]

Ordered Mutable Duplicates Indexed

Items keep their position Can add, remove, change Allows repeated values Access by index [0, 1, 2…]

list_demo.py Common List Methods

# Creating a list .append(x) Add x to end

fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
.insert(i,x) Insert x at index i
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
mixed = [1, 'hello', True, 3.14] .remove(x) Remove first x

.pop() Remove last item

# Accessing elements
.sort() Sort in place
print(fruits[0]) # apple
print(fruits[-1]) # cherry .len(list) Count elements

print(fruits[1:3]) # ['banana','cherry']
.reverse() Reverse the list
03 Tuples ( )

Ordered Immutable Duplicates Faster

Items keep position Cannot be changed Allows repeated values Quicker than lists

tuple_demo.py List vs Tuple

# Creating tuples List [ ] Tuple ( )

point = (10, 20)
Mutable Immutable
rgb = (255, 128, 0)
single = (42,) # comma needed! Slower Faster

More methods Fewer methods

# Accessing
print(point[0]) # 10 [ ] brackets ( ) brackets
print(rgb[1:]) # (128, 0)
Data changes Fixed data

# Tuple unpacking Shopping cart GPS coords

x, y = point
print(x, y) # 10 20
04 Dictionaries { key: value }

Key-Value Mutable Fast Lookup Unique Keys

Each item is a pair Add, edit, delete pairs O(1) access by key No duplicate keys

dict_demo.py Dictionary Methods

# Creating a dictionary .keys() Returns all keys

student = {
'name': 'Alice', .values() Returns all values

'age': 20,
.items() Returns key-value pairs
'grade': 'A'
} .get(k) Safe value lookup

.update(d) Merge another dict

# Accessing values
print(student['name']) # Alice .pop(k) Remove & return value
print([Link]('age'))# 20
.clear() Empty the dictionary

# Adding / Updating
05 Sets { }

Unordered No Duplicates Mutable Set Math

No fixed position Unique values only Can add/remove items Union, intersect, diff

set_demo.py Set Methods

# Creating sets .add(x) Add element x

colors = {'red', 'blue', 'green'}
nums = {1, 2, 3, 2, 1} # → {1,2,3} .remove(x) Remove (error if missing)

empty = set() # NOT {} (that's dict)

.discard(x) Remove (no error)

# Set operations .pop() Remove random item

a = {1, 2, 3, 4}
.union(s) Combine two sets
b = {3, 4, 5, 6}
print(a | b) # Union: {1,2,3,4,5,6} .intersection(s) Common elements
print(a & b) # Intersect: {3,4}
.difference(s) Items only in this set
print(a - b) # Difference: {1,2}
print(a ^ b) # Symm diff: {1,2,5,6}
06 Comparison & When to Use Each

Feature List [ ] Tuple ( ) Dict { } Set { }

Ordered Yes Yes Yes* No

Mutable Yes No Yes Yes

Duplicates Yes Yes Keys No

Syntax [] () { k:v } { } / set()

Indexed Yes Yes By key No

Use case Shopping cart Coordinates Profile Unique tags

Performance Medium Fastest Fast lookup Fast ops

* Python 3.7+ dictionaries maintain insertion order

BONUS Nested & Combined Data Structures

List of Dictionaries Dictionary of Lists

students = [ school = {
{'name': 'Alice', 'grade': 90}, 'science': ['Alice','Bob'],
{'name': 'Bob', 'grade': 85}, 'math': ['Carol','Dave'],
{'name': 'Carol', 'grade': 92}, 'art': ['Eve'],
] }

# Access nested data # Add to a nested list

print(students[0]['name']) # Alice school['math'].append('Frank')

# Loop through # Loop through dict

for s in students: for dept, pupils in [Link]():
print(s['name'], s['grade']) print(dept, ':', pupils)
# Alice 90 # science : ['Alice', 'Bob']
# Bob 85 # math : ['Carol','Dave','Frank']
 Python Data Structures — Quick Reference Cheatsheet

LIST [ ] TUPLE ( ) DICTIONARY { } SET { }

fruits = ['a','b','c'] pt = (10, 20) d = {'a': 1, 'b': 2} s = {1, 2, 3}

[Link]('d') pt[0] → 10 d['a'] → 1 [Link](4)

[Link]('a') x, y = pt d['c'] = 3 [Link](1)

fruits[0] → 'b' len(pt) → 2 [Link]() / .values() s | t → union

len(fruits) → 3 [Link](10) → 1 [Link]('x', 0) → 0 s & t → intersect

[Link]() [Link](20) → 1 del d['b'] s - t → difference

2 in fruits → False # Immutable! 'a' in d → True 3 in s → True

type(x) checks the type · len(x) counts items · in operator checks membership · for loop iterates all structures
What You Learned Today!

Lists
What's Next?
Ordered, mutable — great for sequences of changing data

→ List Comprehensions

Tuples
→ Nested Structures
Ordered, immutable — perfect for fixed data like coordinates

→ Sorting & Filtering

Dictionaries
→ File I/O with dicts
Key-value pairs — ideal for structured records & fast lookup

→ JSON & APIs

Sets
Unique elements — useful for removing duplicates & set math → Pandas DataFrames

Practice on [Link] · [Link] · [Link] · [Link]/python