A tuple is a group of objects which are ordered and fixed. Tuples are sequences just like Python lists. The primary differences between tuples and lists are, tuples can not be changed unlike lists and tuples uses parentheses, but on the other hand lists makes use of square brackets.
Creating a Python tuple is a simple process. It is as easy as putting in different comma separated values. Comma separated values can be put between parentheses.
Example
Below is a simple example -
tup1 = ('physics', 'chemistry', 1997, 2000);
tup2 = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 );
tup3 = "a", "b", "c", "d";
The empty tuple is written as two parentheses containing nothing -
tup1 = ();
In order to write a tuple containing a single value, you have to include a comma, even if only one value is included -
tup1 = (50,);
Just like the string indices, tuple indices starts at 0, and they can be sliced, concatenated and so on.
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Accessing Values in Tuples
To access values in a tuple, make use of the square brackets to slice along with the index or indices to obtain value available at the index.
Example
The following is a simple example that shows how to access values in a tuple -
#!/usr/bin/python tup1 = ('physics', 'chemistry', 1997, 2000); tup2 = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ); print "tup1[0]: ", tup1[0]; print "tup2[1:5]: ", tup2[1:5];
Output
Below is the output of the above example -
tup1[0]: physics tup2[1:5]: [2, 3, 4, 5]
Updating Tuples
Tuples are fixed which means you can't update or change the values of tuple elements, you are able to take portions of the existing tuples to create new tuples.
Example
The below example explains how to use portions of existing tuples to create new tuples -
#!/usr/bin/python tup1 = (12, 34.56); tup2 = ('abc', 'xyz'); # Following action is not valid for tuples # tup1[0] = 100; # So let's create a new tuple as follows tup3 = tup1 + tup2; print tup3;
Output
Below is the output of the above example -
(12, 34.56, 'abc', 'xyz')
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Deleting Tuple Elements
Removing individual tuple element is not possible. Nothing is wrong with putting together another tuple with the unwanted element being decarded.
Example
In order to completely remove an entire tuple, just make use of the del statement. For example -
#!/usr/bin/python tup = ('physics', 'chemistry', 1997, 2000); print tup; del tup; print "After deleting tup : "; print tup;
Output
This will produce the following output. Note - that an exception is raised, this is because after del tup, tuple does not exist anymore -
('physics', 'chemistry', 1997, 2000)
After deleting tup :
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "test.py", line 9, in <module>
print tup;
NameError: name 'tup' is not defined
Basic Tuples Operations
Tuples respond to the + and * operators much like strings. These operators mean concatenation and repetition here too, except that the result is a new tuple, and not a string.
Infact, tuples also responds to all the general sequence operations that we used on strings in the prior chapter -
Infact, tuples also responds to all the general sequence operations that we used on strings in the prior chapter -
| Python Expression | Results | Description |
|---|---|---|
| len((1, 2, 3)) | 3 | Length |
| (1, 2, 3) + (4, 5, 6) | (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) | Concatenation |
| ('Hi!',) * 4 | ('Hi!', 'Hi!', 'Hi!', 'Hi!') | Repetition |
| 3 in (1, 2, 3) | True | Membership |
| for x in (1, 2, 3): print x, | 1 2 3 | Iteration |
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Indexing, Slicing, and Matrixes
Forasmuch as Python tuples are sequences, indexing and slicing also work the same way here as they do for strings. Assuming the following input -
L = ('spam', 'Spam', 'SPAM!')
| Python Expression | Results | Description |
|---|---|---|
| L[2] | 'SPAM!' | Offsets start at zero |
| L[-2] | 'Spam' | Negative: count from the right |
| L[1:] | ['Spam', 'SPAM!'] | Slicing fetches sections |
No Enclosing Delimiters
Any set of multiple object, comma separated, that is written without identifying symbol i.e. parentheses for tuples, brackets for lists, etc., is going to default to tuple as shown below -
#!/usr/bin/python print 'abc', -4.24e93, 18+6.6j, 'xyz'; x, y = 1, 2; print "Value of x , y : ", x,y;
Output
Below is the output of the above example -
abc -4.24e+93 (18+6.6j) xyz Value of x , y : 1 2
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Built-in Tuple Functions
Following below is the list of tuple functions included in Python -
| Sr.No. | Function with Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | cmp(tuple1, tuple2)
Compares elements of both tuples.
|
| 2 | len(tuple)
Gives the total length of the tuple.
|
| 3 | max(tuple)
Returns item from the tuple with max value.
|
| 4 | min(tuple)
Returns item from the tuple with min value.
|
| 5 | tuple(seq)
Converts a list into tuple.
|
Alright guys! This is where we are rounding up for this tutorial post. In our next tutorial, we are going to be discussing about the Python Tulpe cmp() Method.
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Feel free to ask your questions where necessary and i will attend to them as soon as possible. If this tutorial was helpful to you, you can use the share button to share this tutorial.
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Thanks for reading and bye for now.