Tuples

Updated on by Alan Morel @AlanMorelDev
Tuples

A tuple in Python is very similar to lists except for one major difference, the items inside are unchangeable, in other words immutable. What this means in practice is that once defined, the list cannot be modified.

Creating a Tuple

Creating a tuple is very similar to creating a list:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")
print(fruits)

	('apples', 'bananas', 'grapes')

While lists are defined using brackets, tuples use parenthesis.

Accessing items in a Tuple

You can access an item in a tuple in the same way you do with lists:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")
print(fruits[1])

	bananas

You can also use negative indexes:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")
print(fruits[-1])

	grapes

Looping through a Tuple

Here is how to iterate through a tuple:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")

for fruit in fruits:
    print(fruit)

	apples
bananas
grapes

Check if Item Exists in Tuple

You can check if an item exists in a tuple like this:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")

print("apples" in fruits)
print("strawberries" in fruits)

	True
False

Tuple Length

Get the length of a tuple using the built-in len function:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")

print(len(fruits))

	3

Combine Multiple Tuples

Even though tuples are immutable, you can still combine them to create a third entirely new tuple. This is how:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")
vegetables = ("carrots", "peas", "lettuce")

food = fruits + vegetables

print(food)

	('apples', 'bananas', 'grapes', 'carrots', 'peas', 'lettuce')

Converting a Tuple into a List

When the situation arises that you indeed must make changes to the tuple, Python gives you the option to convert it to a list instead. Use the list() function to do just that:

	fruits = ("apples", "bananas", "grapes")

fruits_list = list(fruits)

print(fruits_list)

	['apples', 'bananas', 'grapes']
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