Python Data Structures

User-Defined Data Structures

 Stack  Linked List

 Queue  Graph
 Tree  Hash Map

Built-in Data Structures or Python Collections (Arrays)

There are four collection data types in the Python programming language:

 List is a collection which is ordered and changeable. Allows duplicate members.

 Tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. Allows duplicate
members.
 Set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable*, and unindexed. No
duplicate members.
 Dictionary is a collection which is ordered** and changeable. No duplicate
members.

List

Lists are used to store multiple items in a single variable. Lists are one of 4 built-in data types in
Python used to store collections of data, the other 3 are Tuple, Set, and Dictionary, all with different
qualities and usage. Lists are created using square brackets:

Example:

The list() Constructor

It is also possible to use the list() constructor when creating a new list.
List Items
List items are ordered, changeable, and allow duplicate values. List items are indexed, the first
item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.

Ordered

When we say that lists are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and that order
will not change. If you add new items to a list, the new items will be placed at the end of the list.

Note: There are some list methods that will change the order, but in general: the order of the
items will not change.

Changeable

The list is changeable, meaning that we can change, add, and remove items in a list after it has
been created.

Allow Duplicates

Since lists are indexed, lists can have items with the same value:

Example:

List Length

To determine how many items a list has, use the len() function:
List Items - Data Types

List items can be of any data type:

Access List Items

List items are indexed, and you can access them by referring to the index number:

Example:

Note: The first item has index 0.

Negative Indexing

Negative indexing means start from the end.

-1 refers to the last item, -2 refers to the second last item etc.
Range of Indexes

You can specify a range of indexes by specifying where to start and where to end the
range. When specifying a range, the return value will be a new list with the specified items.

Note: Remember that the first item has index 0. The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at
index 5 (not included).

By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first item:

Example:

By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of the list:

Example:

Range of Negative Indexes

Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the list:
Check if Item Exists

To determine if a specified item is present in a list use the in keyword:

Change List Items

Change Item Value

To change the value of a specific item, refer to the index number:

Change a Range of Item Values

To change the value of items within a specific range, define a list with the new values,
and refer to the range of index numbers where you want to insert the new values:
 If you insert more items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you specified,
and the remaining items will move accordingly:

Example:

Note: The length of the list will change when the number of items inserted does not match the
number of items replaced.

If you insert less items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you specified, and
the remaining items will move accordingly:

Example:

Add List Items

 Append items
 Insert items
Append Items

To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:
Insert Items

To insert a new list item, without replacing any of the existing values, we can use the insert()
method.

The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:

Note: As a result of the examples above, the lists will now contain 7 items.

Extend List

To append elements from another list to the current list, use the extend() method.

The elements will be added to the end of the list.

Example:

Add Any Iterable

The extend() method does not have to append lists, you can add any iterable object
(tuples, sets, dictionaries etc.).
Remove List Items

Remove Specified Item

The remove() method removes the specified item.

Remove Specified Index

The pop() method removes the specified index.

If you do not specify the index, the pop() method removes the last item.

del Keyword
The del keyword also removes the specified index:

The del keyword can also delete the list completely.

Example

Clear the List

The clear() method empties the list. The list still remains, but it has no content.

Example:
Loop Lists

Loop Through a List

You can loop through the list items by using a for loop:

Example:

Print all items in the list, one by one:

Loop Through the Index Numbers

You can also loop through the list items by referring to their index number.

Use the range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.

Example

Print all items by referring to their index number:

The iterable created in the example above is [0, 1, 2].

Using a While Loop

You can loop through the list items by using a while loop.

Use the len() function to determine the length of the list, then start at 0 and loop your way
through the list items by referring to their indexes.

Remember to increase the index by 1 after each iteration.

Example

Print all items, using a while loop to go through all the index numbers

Looping Using List Comprehension

List Comprehension offers the shortest syntax for looping through lists:

Example

A shorthand for loop that will print all items in a list:

List Comprehension

List comprehension offers a shorter syntax when you want to create a new list based on
the values of an existing list.
Example:

Based on a list of fruits, you want a new list, containing only the fruits with the letter "a"
in the name. Without list comprehension you will have to write a for statement with a
conditional test inside:

With list comprehension you can do all that with only one line of code:

Syntax
newlist = [expression for item in iterable if condition == True]

The return value is a new list, leaving the old list unchanged.

Condition

The condition is like a filter that only accepts the items that valuate to True.

Example

Only accept items that are not "apple":

The condition if x != "apple"  will return True for all elements other than "apple", making the
new list contain all fruits except "apple".

The condition is optional and can be omitted:

Sort Lists
Sort List Alphanumerically

List objects have a sort() method that will sort the list alphanumerically,
ascending, by default:

Example:

Sort the list alphabetically:

Sort the list numerically:

Sort Descending

To sort descending, use the keyword argument reverse = True:

Customize Sort Function

You can also customize your own function by using the keyword argument key
=  function.

The function will return a number that will be used to sort the list (the lowest
number first):

Sort the list based on how close the number is to 50:

Case Insensitive Sort

By default the sort() method is case sensitive, resulting in all capital

letters being sorted before lower case letters:

Case sensitive sorting can give an unexpected result:

Luckily we can use built-in functions as key functions when sorting a list.

So if you want a case-insensitive sort function, use str.lower as a key function:

Perform a case-insensitive sort of the list:

Reverse Order

What if you want to reverse the order of a list, regardless of the alphabet?

The reverse() method reverses the current sorting order of the elements.

Copy Lists
Copy a List

You cannot copy a list simply by typing list2 = list1, because: list2 will only be a reference to list1,
and changes made in list1 will automatically also be made in list2.

There are ways to make a copy, one way is to use the built-in List method copy().

Make a copy of a list with the copy() method:

Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in method list().

Join Lists
Join Two Lists

There are several ways to join, or concatenate, two or more lists in Python.

One of the easiest ways are by using the + operator.

Or you can use the extend() method, which purpose is to add elements from one list to another list:

Example

Use the extend() method to add list2 at the end of list1:

Tuples

Tuples are used to store multiple items in a single variable. Tuple is one of 4 built-in data types
in Python used to store collections of data, the other 3 are List, Set, and Dictionary, all with different
qualities and usage.

A tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. Tuples are written with round
brackets.

Example:
Tuple Items
Tuple items are ordered, unchangeable, and allow duplicate values. Tuple items are indexed,
the first item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.

Ordered

When we say that tuples are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and
that order will not change.

Unchangeable

Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change, add or remove items after
the tuple has been created.

Allow Duplicates

Since tuples are indexed, they can have items with the same value:

Tuple Length
To determine how many items a tuple has, use the len() function:

Create Tuple with One Item

To create a tuple with only one item, you have to add a comma after the item, otherwise Python
will not recognize it as a tuple.

Example

One item tuple, remember the comma:

Tuple Items Data Types
Tuple items can be of any data type:

The tuple() Constructor

It is also possible to use the tuple() constructor to make a tuple.

Example:

Access Tuples
You can access tuple items by referring to the index number, inside square brackets:

Note: The first item has index 0. Accessing Tuple items is the same as List items by using index number,
negative indexing, range indexing and checking item if exist.
Update Tuples
Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that you cannot change, add, or remove items once the tuple
is created. But there are some workarounds.

You can convert the tuple into a list, change the list, and convert the list back into a tuple.

Example

Convert the tuple into a list to be able to change it:

Add Items
Since tuples are immutable, they do not have a build-in append() method, but there are other
ways to add items to a tuple.

1. Convert into a list: Just like the workaround for changing a tuple, you can convert it into a list,
add your item(s), and convert it back into a tuple.

2. Add tuple to a tuple. You are allowed to add tuples to tuples, so if you want to add one item, (or
many), create a new tuple with the item(s), and add it to the existing tuple:
Remove Items
Tuples are unchangeable, so you cannot remove items from it, but you can use the same
workaround as we used for changing and adding tuple items:

Or you can delete the tuple completely:

The del keyword can delete the tuple completely:

Unpack Tuples
When we create a tuple, we normally assign values to it. This is called "packing" a tuple. But, in
Python, we are also allowed to extract the values back into variables. This is called "unpacking":

Note: The number of variables must match the number of values in the tuple, if not, you must
use an asterisk to collect the remaining values as a list.

Using Asterisk*
If the number of variables is less than the number of values, you can add an * to the
variable name and the values will be assigned to the variable as a list:
 Example

Assign the rest of the values as a list called "red":

If the asterisk is added to another variable name than the last, Python will assign values
to the variable until the number of values left matches the number of variables left.

Loop Tuples
For Loop
You can loop through the tuple items by using a for loop.
 Loop Through the Index Numbers
You can also loop through the tuple items by referring to their index number. Use the
range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.

Using While Loop

Join Tuples
To join two or more tuples you can use the + operator:

Multiply Tuples

If you want to multiply the content of a tuple a given number of times, you can use the *
operator:
Sets

Sets are used to store multiple items in a single variable. Set is one of 4 built-in data types in
Python used to store collections of data, the other 3 are List, Tuple, and Dictionary, all with different
qualities and usage.

A set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable*, and unindexed.

Note: Set items are unchangeable, but you can remove items and add new items. Sets are written with
curly brackets.

Example: (this will run 3 times and output order will change because Sets items is unordered)

Set Items
Unordered

Unordered means that the items in a set do not have a defined order. Set items can
appear in a different order every time you use them, and cannot be referred to by index or key.

Unchangeable

Set items are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change the items after the set has
been created.

Once a set is created, you cannot change its items, but you can remove items and add
new items.

Duplicates not allowed

Sets cannot have two items with the same value. Duplicate values will be ignored and
return only one of duplicated items.

Length of a Set
To determine how many items a set has, use the len() function.
Set Items Data Types
Set items can be of any data type:

Example: String, int and boolean data types:

A set can contain different data types:

The set() Constructor

It is also possible to use the set() constructor method to make a set.

Access Set Items

You cannot access items in a set by referring to an index or a key.

But you can loop through the set items using a for loop, or ask if a specified value is present in a
set, by using the in keyword.

Example

Loop through the set, and print the values:

Add Set Items

Once a set is created, you cannot change its items, but you can add new items.

To add one item to a set use the add() method.

 Example

Add an item to a set, using the add() method:

Add Sets

To add items from another set into the current set, use the update() method.

Add Any Iterable

The object in the update() method does not have to be a set, it can be any iterable
object (tuples, lists, dictionaries etc.).

Remove Set Items

Remove Item

To remove an item in a set, use the remove(), or the discard() method.

Example of remove() method:

Note: If the item to remove does not exist, remove() will raise an error.

Example of discard() method:

Note: If the item to remove does not exist, discard() will NOT raise an error.

pop() Method

You can also use the pop() method to remove an item, but this method will remove the
last item. Remember that sets are unordered, so you will not know what item that gets
removed.

The return value of the pop() method is the removed item.

Example (Remove the last item by using the pop() method):

Note: Sets are unordered, so when using the pop() method, you do not know which item that
gets removed.

clear() Method

The clear() method empties the set:

 del Keyword

Example:

The del keyword will delete the set completely:

Loop Sets
Loop Items

You can loop through the set items by using a for loop:

Join Sets
Join Two Sets

There are several ways to join two or more sets in Python. You can use the union() method that
returns a new set containing all items from both sets, or the update() method that inserts all the items
from one set into another:
 Note: Both union() and update() will exclude any duplicate items.

Dictionary

Dictionaries are used to store data values in key:value pairs.

A dictionary is a collection which is ordered*, changeable and do not allow duplicates. As of

Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered. In Python 3.6 and earlier, dictionaries are unordered.

Dictionaries are written with curly brackets, and have keys and values:

Dictionary Items
Dictionary items are ordered, changeable, and does not allow duplicates. Dictionary items are
presented in key:value pairs, and can be referred to by using the key name.

Ordered or Unordered?
 As of Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered. In Python 3.6 and earlier, dictionaries
are unordered. When we say that dictionaries are ordered, it means that the items have a
defined order, and that order will not change. Unordered means that the items does not have a
defined order, you cannot refer to an item by using an index.

Changeable

Dictionaries are changeable, meaning that we can change, add or remove items after
the dictionary has been created.

Duplicates Not Allowed

Dictionaries cannot have two items with the same key:

Dictionary Length
To determine how many items a dictionary has, use the len() function:

Print the number of items in the dictionary:

Dictionary Data Types

The values in dictionary items can be of any data type:

Example: String, int, boolean, and list data types:

Access Items
You can access the items of a dictionary by referring to its key name, inside square brackets:

Get the value of the "model" key:

There is also a method called get() that will give you the same result:

Get the value of the "model" key:

Get Keys
The keys() method will return a list of all the keys in the dictionary.

Get a list of the keys:

Get Values
The values() method will return a list of all the values in the dictionary.

Get Items
The items() method will return each item in a dictionary, as tuples in a list.
 Check if Key Exists
To determine if a specified key is present in a dictionary use the in keyword:

Check if "model" is present in the dictionary:

Change Items
You can change the value of a specific item by referring to its key name:

Example

Change the "year" to 2018:

update() method
The update() method will update the dictionary with the items from the given
argument. The argument must be a dictionary, or an iterable object with key:value pairs.
 Example: Update the "year" of the car by using the update() method:

Add Items
Adding an item to the dictionary is done by using a new index key and assigning a value to it:

Using update() method.

An index name or key name that not exist in the dictionary, will be added as new item.

Add a color item to the dictionary by using the update() method:

Remove Items
There are several methods to remove items from a dictionary:

pop() method
The pop() method removes the item with the specified key name:
popitem() method
The popitem() method removes the last inserted item (in versions before 3.7, a random item is
removed instead):

del keyword
The del keyword removes the item with the specified key name:

The del keyword can also delete the dictionary completely:

clear() method
The clear() method empties the dictionary:
Loop Dictionaries
You can loop through a dictionary by using a for loop.

When looping through a dictionary, the return value are the keys of the dictionary, but there are
methods to return the values as well.

Example:

Print all key names in the dictionary, one by one:

Print all values in the dictionary, one by one:

You can also use the values() method to return values of a dictionary:
 You can use the keys() method to return the keys of a dictionary:

Loop through both keys and values, by using the items() method:

Copy Dictionaries
There are ways to make a copy, one way is to use the built-in Dictionary method copy().

Make a copy of a dictionary with the copy() method:

 Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in function dict().

Make a copy of a dictionary with the dict() function:

Nested Dictionaries
A dictionary can contain dictionaries, this is called nested dictionaries.

Example

Create a dictionary that contain three dictionaries:

Or, if you want to add three dictionaries into a new dictionary:

Create three dictionaries, then create one dictionary that will contain the other three dictionaries: