Python Tuple vs List

Differences Between Python Tuple vs List

Python Tuple vs List is the most frequently used data structures in Python. They store a collection of items, either objects or values in a specified sequence. They can store items of any data type and this item can be accessed with the help of its index. These are the similarities in lists and tuples, but what is the difference?

The difference is that a tuple is immutable. This means that it cannot be altered, changed, or manipulated. A tuple is usually used precisely for this property. One of the many uses for Python tuples is sequence unpacking, where we store the returned data to a few specified variables. Let us look at this example for a tuple:

def test()
return 1,2
a,b = test()
print(a,b)

Here, we have used a tuple to return the value from the function, and hence while printing the value, we cannot modify it.

A Python Tuple can either have no brackets around it or parenthesis like “()” This is what helps Python understand a list from a tuple. Python list is defined by square brackets. Its functionality is similar to how an array works in other languages. Example:

x = [1,3,5,6,2,1,6] print(x)                 : Prints the complete list
print(x[0],x[1])   : Prints the list starting at Index 0

Often confused due to their resemblances, these two structures are significantly different.

Head to Head Comparison Between Python Tuple vs List (Infographics)

Below is the Top 6 Comparison Python Tuple vs List

Key Differences Between Python Tuple vs List

Below are the lists of points, describe the key differences between Python Tuple vs List:

Functionality of Operations

Lists have supplementary builtin function when compared to tuples. Lists and tuples have in common the index() and count() methods, but other than these, lists have many functions that apply only specifically to lists like append(), remove(), clear(), sort(), reverse(), etc.

We can use the inbuilt function dir([object]) to find out all the functions associated with lists and tuples. The output for such a command would be as follows:

List Object:

[‘__add__’,
‘__class__’,
‘__contains__’,
‘__delattr__’,
‘__delitem__’,
‘__dir__’,
‘__doc__’,
‘__eq__’,
‘__format__’,
‘__ge__’,
‘__getattribute__’,
‘__getitem__’,
‘__gt__’,
‘__hash__’,
‘__iadd__’,
‘__imul__’,
‘__init__’,
‘__init_subclass__’,
‘__iter__’,
‘__le__’,
‘__len__’,
‘__lt__’,
‘__mul__’,
‘__ne__’,
‘__new__’,
‘__reduce__’,
‘__reduce_ex__’,
‘__repr__’,
‘__reversed__’,
‘__rmul__’,
‘__setattr__’,
‘__setitem__’,
‘__sizeof__’,
‘__str__’,
‘__subclasshook__’,
‘append’,
‘clear’,
‘copy’,
‘count’,
‘extend’,
‘index’,
‘insert’,
‘pop’,
‘remove’,
‘reverse’,
‘sort’]

Tuple Object:

[‘__add__’,
‘__class__’,
‘__contains__’,
‘__delattr__’,
‘__dir__’,
‘__doc__’,
‘__eq__’,
‘__format__’,
‘__ge__’,
‘__getattribute__’,
‘__getitem__’,
‘__getnewargs__’,
‘__gt__’,
‘__hash__’,
‘__init__’,
‘__init_subclass__’,
‘__iter__’,
‘__le__’,
‘__len__’,
‘__lt__’,
‘__mul__’,
‘__ne__’,
‘__new__’,
‘__reduce__’,
‘__reduce_ex__’,
‘__repr__’,
‘__rmul__’,
‘__setattr__’,
‘__sizeof__’,
‘__str__’,
‘__subclasshook__’,
‘count’,
‘index’]

We can see that there are additional functionalities linked with a list than for a tuple.

Size Evaluation

Tuple operations have a smaller size than that of list operations. This makes the operations faster when there is an enormous number of elements. Let us see an example to calculate the size of the list and tuple elements.

x= (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0)
y= [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0]  
print(‘x=’,x.__sizeof__())
print(‘y=’,y.__sizeof__())

Output:

x= 104
y= 120

In this example, we have a tuple x and a list y holding the same number of items, but the size of the tuple is less than that of the list.

Diverse Use Cases

Initially, it may seem like lists will always be able to replace tuples, but this is not the case. We can understand this due to the following reasons:

• When a tuple is being used as opposed to a list, it gives the viewer an idea that the data that is present can and should not be changed.
• Tuples are frequently used to store data as the equal of a dictionary without keys.

Example:

[(‘Employee1’, 1000), (‘Employee2’, 1001), (‘Employee3’, 1002)]

Tuples can also be used as keys in dictionaries because of their hashtable and immutable nature. Lists are not appropriate for this as they cannot handle the function __hash__() and are mutable in nature.

key_value = {(‘a’,’b’):1}      #Valid
key_value = {[‘a’,’b’]:1}      #Invalid

• Readability is increased, i.e. reading information is easier when tuples are stored in a list, as opposed to when lists are stored in a list. Example:

[(2,4), (5,7), (3,8), (5,9)] is easier to read than [[2,4], [5,7], [3,8], [5,9]]

Usage of Tuples and Lists

We use a tuple when we know what information is to be given and we need to save the values from being modified, like when we need to store credentials for a website. Tuples are also used as keys for a dictionary because only immutable values can be hashed. Hence, we cannot use a list in such cases. If we still want to use a list as a key, we need to first convert the list into a tuple.

And the other hand, we can use a list, when we want to modify the values given within the collection, and also when we do not know whether our collection size is fixed.

Python Tuples vs Lists Comparison table

Below is the topmost comparison between Python tuples vs Lists

Features	Lists	Tuples
Syntax	Lists are defined by square brackets [].	Tuples are defined by parenthesis () or no brackets at all.
Mutable vs Immutable	The list is mutable in nature i.e. it can be altered or changed after its creation.	A tuple is immutable in nature i.e. it cannot be altered or changed after its creation.
Available Operations	Built-in functions in list are more compared to those in tuple, e.g. pop(), insert(), etc.	Tuple has fewer built-in functions.
Size Comparison	List operations are bigger in size when compared to tuple operations.	Tuple operations are smaller in size, which makes it faster with many elements.
Length	Lists have a variable length.	Tuples have fixed lengths. We cannot change the size of an existing tuple.
Duplicity	Lists can be copied	Tuples cannot be copied.

Conclusion

This is all about Python Tuples vs Lists. So now that we have understood the differences between python tuples and lists, it will be easier for us to decide which of the two should be used and where. Therefore, we can conclude that although both lists and tuples are important data structures in Python, there are notable differences among them, with the major difference being that lists are mutable whereas tuples are not.

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