Tuples
A tuple is a Python data structure used to store an ordered and immutable collection of objects. Tuples are similar to lists, except that tuples cannot be changed after creation.
Creating a Tuple
There are multiple ways to create a tuple in Python.
Tuples can be created with the built-in tuple()
constructor:
streaming_platforms = tuple(["Netflix", "Hulu", "Amazon", "Apple TV"])
We can also create tuples with parentheses:
mountains = ("Everest", "Kilimanjaro", "Fuji")
One-element tuples are a special case. We can create a one-element tuple with a trailing comma:
controller = ("joystick", )
Without the trailing comma, Python will interpet the surrounding parentheses as an expression instead of a tuple:
streaming_days = (3)print(type(streaming_days))# Output: <class 'int'>
Using a Tuple
Much like lists, since tuples are ordered, we can access tuple elements by index:
streaming_platforms = tuple(["Netflix", "Hulu", "Amazon", "Apple TV"])print(streaming_platforms[1])# Output: Hulu
However, since tuples are immutable, we cannot modify, delete, or add new elements. For example, attempting to re-assign an element will throw an error:
streaming_platforms = tuple(["Netflix", "Hulu", "Amazon", "Apple TV"])streaming_platforms[2] = "YouTube"
This will result in:
TypeError: 'tuple' object does not support item assignment
Tuples also support sequence operations such as len()
, min()
, max()
.