Python Tuples
Tuple
A tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. In Python tuples are written with round brackets.
Access Tuple Items
You can access tuple items by referring to the index number, inside square brackets:
Example
Print the second item in the tuple:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
print(thistuple[1])
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Negative Indexing
Negative indexing means beginning from the end, -1 refers to the last item,
-2 refers to the second last item etc.
Example
Print the last item of the tuple:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
print(thistuple[-1])
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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 tuple with the specified items.
Example
Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango")
print(thistuple[2:5])
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Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).
Remember that the first item has index 0.
Range of Negative Indexes
Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the tuple:
Example
This example returns the items from index -4 (included) to index -1 (excluded)
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango")
print(thistuple[-4:-1])
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Change Tuple Values
Once a tuple is created, you cannot change its values. Tuples are unchangeable, or immutable as it also is called.
But there is a workaround. 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:
x = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
y = list(x)
y[1] = "kiwi"
x =
tuple(y)
print(x)
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Loop Through a Tuple
You can loop through the tuple items by using a for loop.
Example
Iterate through the items and print the values:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
for x in thistuple:
print(x)
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You will learn more about for loops in our Python For Loops Chapter.
Check if Item Exists
To determine if a specified item is present in a tuple use the in keyword:
Example
Check if "apple" is present 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 the len() method:
Example
Print the number of items in the tuple:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
print(len(thistuple))
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Add Items
Once a tuple is created, you cannot add items to it. Tuples are unchangeable.
Example
You cannot add items to a tuple:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
thistuple[3] = "orange" # This will raise an error
print(thistuple)
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Create Tuple With One Item
To create a tuple with only one item, you have add a comma after the item, unless Python will not recognize the variable as a tuple.
Example
One item tuple, remember the commma:
thistuple = ("apple",)
print(type(thistuple))
#NOT a tuple
thistuple = ("apple")
print(type(thistuple))
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Remove Items
Note: You cannot remove items in a tuple.
Tuples are unchangeable, so you cannot remove items from it, but you can delete the tuple completely:
Example
The del keyword can delete the tuple
completely:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
del
thistuple
print(thistuple)
#this will raise an error because the tuple no longer exists
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Join Two Tuples
To join two or more tuples you can use the +
operator:
Example
Join two tuples:
tuple1 = ("a", "b" , "c")
tuple2 = (1, 2, 3)
tuple3 = tuple1 + tuple2
print(tuple3)
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The tuple() Constructor
It is also possible to use the tuple() constructor to make a tuple.
Example
Using the tuple() method to make a tuple:
thistuple = tuple(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) # note the double round-brackets
print(thistuple)
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Tuple Methods
Python has two built-in methods that you can use on tuples.
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| count() | Returns the number of times a specified value occurs in a tuple |
| index() | Searches the tuple for a specified value and returns the position of where it was found |
