Python Data Structures Cheat

Sheet: The Essential Guide

May 10, 2024 Cassandra Lee

Do you want to pick out elements from a list of objects but forgot how to do list
comprehension? Or maybe you have a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file and need to find
a suitable data structure (such as Python's dictionary data type) to process the data in it.
Browsing app development forums to find a helpful piece of Python code can be frustrating.

The good news is we’ve prepared this cheat sheet for people like you. It doubles as a
refresher on data structures and algorithms as applied to Python. Keep a copy of this Python
data structures cheat sheet on your desk to look up commands or code snippets the next
time you need to recall them.

This Python data structures cheat sheet covers the theoretical essentials. Download the PDF
version here.

Page 1 of 18
Types of Data Structures in Python
Here’s a diagram to illustrate the hierarchy of Python data structures:

Python Primitive Data Structures

These store simple data values.

DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

Collection of characters surrounded by single or double

String 'Alice', "Bob"
quotation marks

Page 2 of 18
 DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

Boolean Logical values True, False

Integer Whole number of unlimited length 0, -273

1.618,
Float Floating-point decimal
3.1415926

Python Built-In Non-Primitive Data Structures

These data structures, which store values and collections of values, are inherent to Python.

ALLOW
DESCRIPTION ORDERED MUTABLE SYNTAX EXAMPLES
DUPLICATES

• [1, 2.3, True]

List √ √ √ [ ]
• ['John', 'Doe']

• ('age', 22)
Tuple √ √ ✕ ( )
• (7.89, False)

Set

• {6, 4.5}
0 is the same as ✕ ✕ ✕ { }
• {'nice', True}
False, as are 1 and
True.

• {"FB":
"Facebook",
Dictionary "WA":
√ > 3.7 {key: "WhatsApp",
✕ √
Map, storing key- ✕ ≤ 3.6 value} "IG":
value pairs. "Instagram"}
• {'name': 'Bob',
'id': 255}

List and Tuple Operations

Page 3 of 18
Note that Python lists and tuples are zero-indexed, meaning the first element has an index
of 0. See the command chart below for an example.

Accessing Items in Lists

The table below is based on this list:

fruit_list = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi",

"melon", "mango"].

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

fruit_list[0] Get the rst item on the list ("apple")

fruit_list[1] Get the second item on the list ("banana")

fruit_list[-1] Get the last item ("mango")

fruit_list[­
2:5] Get the items from start to end indexes

Get the items from the beginning but exclude "kiwi" and
fruit_list[:4]
beyond

fruit_list[2:] Get the items from "­che­rry­" to the end

Get the items from "­orange" (-4) onwards but exclude "­-
fruit_list[­
-4:-1]
man­go" (-1)

if "­ le" in fruit_list:

app­
print(­
"Yes, we have Check if "­app­le" is in the list
'apple'")

List (and Tuple) Methods

Commands with an asterisk (*) apply to tuples.

COMMAND DESCRIPTION USAGE

append() Add an element at the end of the list list1.a­

ppend(element)

clear() Remove all the elements from the list list1.c­

lear()

Page 4 of 18
 COMMAND DESCRIPTION USAGE

copy() Return a copy of the list list1.c­

opy()

Return the number of elements with

count() list1.c­
oun­
t(e­
lement)
the speci ed value*

Add the elements of a list (or any

extend() list1.e­ end­
xt­ (list2)
iterable), to the end of the current list

Return the index of the rst element list1.i­

nde­
x(e­
lem­
ent­
[,s­
-
index()
with the speci ed value* tar­ end]])
t[,­

Add an element at the specified list1.i­

nse­
rt(­
po­
sition,
insert()
position (position is an integer) element)

Remove the element at the specified

pop() list1.p­ [in­
op(­ dex])
position

Remove the rst item with the

remove() list1.r­
emo­
ve(­
ele­
ment)
speci ed value

reverse() Reverse the order of the list [Link]­

verse()

sort() [Link]()
Sort the list in ascending / descending
sort(reverse = [Link](reverse =
order
True) True)

Delete from the list the item specified

del() del list1[­
index]
with its index

list1 = ["x", "y"]

list2 = [8, 9]
list1 + list2 Join two lists list3 = list1 + list2

# Returns: ["x","y",8,9]

List Comprehension

List comprehension simplifies the creation of a new list based on the values of an existing

Page 5 of 18
list.

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

[n for n in range(10) if n < 5] Accept only numbers less than 5

[x for x in fruits if "­

a" in x] Accept items containing "­a".

[x for x in fruits if x != "­ le"]

app­ Accept all items except "­app­
le "

Make uppercase the values in the new

[[Link]() for x in fruits]
list

Add a question mark at the end of each

[x + '?' for x in fruits]
item

['hello' for x in fruits] Set all values in the new list to 'hello'

[x if x != "­ ana­
ban­ " else "­
ora­
nge­
" for x Replace "­ban­ " with "­ora­
ana­ " in the
nge­
in fruits] new list

Accessing Items in Tuples

Below, the tuple in question is fruits = ("apple", "banana", "cherry").

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

Check if "­app­
le" is present in the tuple. This command returns the
"­ le" in fruits
app­
value True.

(x, y, z) =
fruits
# x == "apple" Assign variables to take up each item in the tuple, also known as
# y == "banana" unpacking a tuple.
# z == "cherry"
(a, *_) = fruits Either the number of variables must match the number of values in the
# a == "apple" tuple, or use an asterisk as shown to put away the unwanted values.
# _ == ["banana",
"cherry"]

Page 6 of 18
Tuple Manipulation

Adding items

You can add items to a tuple as follows:

Initial original = ("ap­

ple­
", "­
ban­
ana­
", "­
che­
rry­
")

new_item = ("or­ e",)

ang­
Code
original += new_item

Result ("ap­ ", "­

ple­ ban­
ana­
", "­
che­
rry­
", "orange")

Tip: When creating a single-item tuple, remember to include a comma.

Removing items and changing values

Since tuples are immutable, you can’t remove or modify their contents directly. The key is
converting it into a list and back.

EXAMPLE ADDITION REMOVAL CHANGE

original = ("ap­
- original = ("ap­
- original = ("ap­
-
Initial ple­ ban­
", "­ ana­
", "­
- ple­
", "­
ban­
ana­
", "­
- ple­
", "­
ban­
ana­
", "­
-
che­ ")
rry­ che­ ")
rry­ che­ ")
rry­

tempList = tempList = tempList =

→ List
list(original) list(original) list(original)

[Link]­ "­
nd(­ - [Link]­
ve(­
"­- tempList[1] = "­
kiw­
-
Code
ora­ ")
nge­ app­
le") i"

newList = newList = newList =

→ Tuple
tuple(tempList) tuple(tempList) tuple(tempList)

Result of ("ap­ ", "­

ple­ ban­
ana­
", ("­
ban­
ana­
", "­
che­
- ("kiwi", "­
ban­
ana­
",
newList "­ rry­
che­ ", "orange") rry­
") "­ rry­
che­ ")

Dictionary Operations

Page 7 of 18
Adding Items

There are three methods:

EXAMPLE ADDITION #1 (DIRECT) ADDITION #2 (UPDATE()) ADDITION #3 (**)

meta = { "FB": meta = { "FB": meta = { "FB":

"Facebook", "WA": "Facebook", "WA": "Facebook", "WA":
"WhatsApp", "IG": "WhatsApp", "IG": "WhatsApp", "IG":
Initial "Instagram" } "Instagram" } "Instagram" }

new_co = { "GIF": new_co = { "GIF": new_co = { "GIF":

"Giphy" } "Giphy" } "Giphy" }

meta[­
"GIF"] = meta = {**meta,
Code [Link](new_co)
"Giphy" **new_co}

{ "FB": { "FB":
{ "FB": "Facebook",
"Facebook", "WA": "Facebook", "WA":
Result of "WA": "WhatsApp", "IG":
"WhatsApp", "IG": "WhatsApp", "IG":
meta "Instagram", "GIF":
"Instagram", "Instagram",
"Giphy" }
"GIF": "Giphy" } "GIF": "Giphy" }

Warning: duplicate keys will cause the latest values to overwrite earlier values.

General Operations

COMMAND DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

del del meta[­

"WA"]
Remove the item with the speci ed key name
dict1[­
"key1"] # "WhatsApp"

del di­
ct1 Delete the dictionary del meta

Access the value of a dictionary dict1 meta["FB"]#

dict1[key1]
element using its key key1 "Facebook"

Dictionary method Description Usage

clear() Remove all the elements from the dictionary dict1.c­

lear()

Page 8 of 18
 COMMAND DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

copy() Return a copy of the dictionary dict1.c­

opy()

Return a dictionary with the specified keys dict1.f­

rom­
key­
s(keys,
fromkeys()
and value value)

dictio­
nar­
y.g­
et(­
key­
-
get() Return the value of the specified key
_name, value)

Return a list containing a tuple for each key-

items() dict1.i­
tems()
value pair

keys() Return a list containing the dictio­nary’s keys dict1.k­

eys()

pop() Remove the element with the speci ed key dict1.p­

op(ke­
y_name)

popitem() Remove the last inserted key-value pair dict1.p­ tem()

opi­

Return the value of the specified key. If the dict1.s­

etd­
efa­
ult­
(ke­
-
setdef­
ault()
key does not exist, add as new key-value pair y_name, value)

Update the dictionary with the speci ed key- dict1.u­

pda­
te(­
ite­
-
update()
value pairs rable)

values() Return a list of all the values in the dictionary dict1.v­

alues()

Set Operations
Accessing

Although you can’t directly access items in a set, you can loop through the items:

EXAMPLE ACCESSING ITEMS IN A SET (USING LIST COMPREHENSION)

set1 = {32, 1, 2, 27, 83, 26, 59, 60}

Code
set1_odd = [i for i in set1 if i % 2 == 1]

Result set1_odd = [1, 27, 83, 59]

Page 9 of 18
Adding and Removing Items

COMMAND DESCRIPTION USAGE

add() Add a single element to the set fruits.a­ "­

dd(­ ora­
nge­
")

fruits.a­ {"pi­
dd(­ nea­
ppl­
e", "­
-
update() Add elements from another set into this set
man­
go", "durian"})

discard() fruits.d­
isc­
ard­
("ba­
nan­
a")
Remove the specified element
remove() fruits.r­ ve(­
emo­ "­ban­
ana­
")

Remove the last element in the set. The

pop() bye = [Link]()
return value of bye is the removed element.

clear() Empty the set [Link]()

copy() Return a copy of the set [Link]()

del Delete the set del fruits

Mathematical Operations

COMMAND / BINARY OPERATOR(S) DESCRIPTION

differ­
ence()
Get the difference of several sets
-

Remove the elements in this set that are also included in

differ­ e_u­
enc­ pdate()
another, speci ed set

inters­ ion()
ect­
Get intersection of sets
&

Remove the elements in this set that are not present in

inters­ ion­
ect­ _up­
date()
other, specified set(s)

isdisj­
oint() Return whether two sets have an intersection

issubset()
Check if a set is a (strict <) subset
<, <=

Page 10 of 18
 COMMAND / BINARY OPERATOR(S) DESCRIPTION
issupe­
rset()
Check if a set is a (strict >) superset
>, >=

symmet­ _di­
ric­ ffe­
rence()
Get symmetric differ­ence of two sets
^

Insert the symmetric differ­ences from this set and

symmetric_difference_update()
another

union()
Get the union of sets
|

Algorithms and the Complexities

This section is about the complexity classes of various Python data structures.

List

Tuples have the same operations (non-mutable) and complexities.

COMMAND (L: LIST) COMPLEXITY CLASS

[Link](item) O(1)

[Link]() O(1)

item in/not in L O(N)

[Link]() O(N)

del L[i] O(N)

[Link](…) O(N)

L1==L2, L1!=L2 O(N)

L[i] O(1)

for item in L: O(N)

len(L) O(1)

Page 11 of 18
COMMAND (L: LIST) COMPLEXITY CLASS

k*L O(k*N)

min(L), max(L) O(N)

[Link](-1) O(1)

[Link](item) O(N)

[Link](…) O(N)

[Link]() O(N)

L[x:y] O(y-x)

[Link]() O(N*log(N))

L[i]=item O(1)

Dictionary

COMMAND (D: DICTIONARY) COMPLEXITY CLASS / RANGE (—)

[Link]() O(1)

dict(…) O(len(d))

del d[k] O(1) — O(N)

[Link]() O(1) — O(N)

for item in d: O(N)

len(d) O(1)

[Link](item) O(1) — O(N)

[Link]() O(1)

[Link]() O(1)

[Link]() O(1)

Page 12 of 18
 [Link](seq) O(len(seq))

Set

OPERATION COMMAND (S: SET) COMPLEXITY CLASS / RANGE (—)

Add [Link](item) O(1) — O(N)

Clear [Link]() O(1)

Copy [Link]() O(N)

Containment item in/not in s O(1) — O(N)

Creation set(…) O(len(s))

Discard [Link](item) O(1) — O(N)

Difference s1-s2 O(len(s1))

Difference Update s1.difference_update(s2) O(len(s2)) — ∞

Equality s1==s2, s1!=s2 O(min(len(s1), len(s2)))

Intersection s1&s2 O(min(len(s1), len(s2)))

Iteration for item in s: O(N)

Is Subset s1<=s2 O(len(s1))

Is Superset s1>=s2 O(len(s2)) — O(len(s1))

Pop [Link]() O(1) — O(N)

Union s1|s2 O(len(s1)+len(s2)) — ∞

Symmetric O(len(s1)) —
s1^s2
Difference O(len(s1)*len(s2))

Symbol Table
Python keeps track of variables using symbol tables, which you can explore using the
following basic commands:

Page 13 of 18
 COMMAND DESCRIPTION

__doc__ Program documentation as comments (#, """, ''') at the beginning of the code

__name__ How you run the Python [Link] execution: __name__ == "__main__"

dir() Effective namespace

global() Dictionary of variable names of global scope to variable values

locals() Dictionary of variable names of local scope to variable values

Return the value of the speci ed variable

eval()
Example usage:for x in dir(): print(x, eval(x))

Python Libraries
The following commands are for setting up Python programs or libraries for use inside your
program:

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

import module1 Import program / library module1 as Python module

from module1 import

Import the objects obj1, obj2 from module1
obj1, obj2

from module1 import * Import all objects in module1

Return the dictionary containing module1’s symbol table, like

module1.__dict__
dir() of the main program

Examples of Python libraries containing other non-primitive data structures:

array: Efficient arrays of numeric values

collections: Abstract data structures
dataclasses: For creating user-defined data structures
datetime: Basic date and time types
queue: Synchronized queue class

Page 14 of 18