Python Tuples

Tuple (Tuple)

Tuples are ordered and immutable collections. In Python, tuples are written with parentheses.

Instance

Create a tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
print(thistuple)

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Access tuple items

You can access tuple items by referencing the index number within the square brackets.

Instance

Print the second item in the tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
print(thistuple[1])

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Negative index

Negative indices represent starting from the end, -1 represents the last item, -2 represents the second-to-last item, and so on.

Instance

Print the last item of the tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
print(thistuple[-1])

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Index range

You can specify the index range by specifying the start and end points of the range.

After specifying the range, the returned value will be a new tuple with the specified item.

Instance

Return the third, fourth, and fifth items:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango")
print(thistuple[2:5])

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Note:The search will start from index 2 (inclusive) and end at index 5 (exclusive).

Remember, the index of the first item is 0.

Negative index range

If you want to start searching from the end of the tuple, specify a negative index:

Instance

This example will return items from index -4 (inclusive) to index -1 (exclusive):

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango")
print(thistuple[-4:-1])

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Change tuple value

After creating a tuple, you will not be able to change its value. Tuples are immutable, or also known as constant.

But there is a solution. You can convert the tuple to a list, change the list, and then convert the list back to a tuple.

Instance

You can change a tuple by converting it to a list:

x = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
y = list(x)
y[1] = "kiwi"
x = tuple(y)
print(x)

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Traverse tuple

You can use for Loop through tuple items.

Instance

Traverse items and print values:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
for x in thistuple:
  print(x)

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You will learn Python For Loop In this chapter, you will learn about for More about loops.

Check if item exists

To determine if a specified item exists in the tuple, use in Keyword:

Instance

Check if "apple" exists in the tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
if "apple" in thistuple:
  print("Yes, 'apple' is in the fruits tuple")

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Tuple length

To determine how many items a tuple has, use len() Method:

Instance

Print the number of items in the tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
print(len(thistuple))

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Add item

Once a tuple is created, you cannot add items to it. Tuples are immutable.

Instance

You cannot add items to a tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
thistuple[3] = "orange" # Will cause an error
print(thistuple)

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Create a tuple with one item

To create a tuple that contains only one item, you must add a comma after the item, otherwise Python cannot recognize the variable as a tuple.

Instance

Single-item tuple, don't forget the comma:

thistuple = ("apple",)
print(type(thistuple))
# Not a tuple
thistuple = ("apple")
print(type(thistuple))

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Delete item

Note:You cannot delete items from a tuple.

Tuples are immutable, so you cannot remove items from them, but you can completely delete the tuple:

Instance

The del keyword can completely delete a tuple:

thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
del thistuple
print(thistuple) # This will cause an error because the tuple does not exist.

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Merge two tuples

To connect two or more tuples, you can use the + operator:

Instance

Merge this tuple:

tuple1 = ("a", "b", "c")
tuple2 = (1, 2, 3)
tuple3 = tuple1 + tuple2
print(tuple3)

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tuple() Constructor

You can also use tuple() Constructor to create a tuple.

Instance

Use tuple() Methods to create a tuple:

thistuple = tuple(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) # Note the parentheses
print(thistuple)

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Tuple Methods

Python provides two built-in methods that can be used on tuples.

Method Description
count() Return the number of times a specified value appears in the tuple.
index() Search for a specified value in the tuple and return the position where it is found.