Tuple in Python (with Examples)

Hello Techies,

This blog is about “Tuple in Python”. A tuple is a collection of ordered and immutable objects. So in this blog, we will learn about the usage of the Tuple in Python.

Check out my previous blog on built-in datatypes in Python.

Let’s start and check, How to use Tuple in Python step by step.

Below are the Key Points that we are covering in this blog:

1. Python Tuple (Introduction)
2. Create Tuple in Python
3. Index in Tuple Python
4. Accessing Tuple Element
5. Modifying Tuple Element
6. Delete or Remove elements from Tuple
7. Python Tuple Slice
8. Python Tuple Methods

#1. Python Tuple(Introduction)

• A Tuple is same as list in Python. The difference between the two is that once you assign an element to a tuple, you can’t change it, which means the tuples are immutable, whereas we can change the elements of the list.
• Tuples can have many objects and they can be of different types (such as integers, floats, lists, strings, etc.)
• The tuple is represented using a square bracket ().
• Example: data = (1, -89, “test”, “TechPlusLifeStyle”)

#2. Create Tuple in Python

A tuple is created by placing all the elements separated by commas in parentheses (). Brackets are optional, however, it is good practice to use them.

Syntax

tuple_name = (item1, item2, item3, ...)

Example

data = (1, -89, "test", "TechPlusLifeStyle")
type(data)

data1 = 1, -89, "test", "TechPlusLifeStyle"
type(data1)

Output

<class 'tuple'> 
<class 'tuple'> 

It is not enough to have one element in parentheses. We need a trailing comma to show that, it’s a tuple.

data = ("TechPlusLifeStyle")
type(data)

data1 = "TechPlusLifeStyle"
type(data1)

data3 = ("TechPlusLifeStyle",)
type(data3)

data4 = "TechPlusLifeStyle",
type(data4)

Output

<class 'str'>
<class 'str'>
<class 'tuple'>
<class 'tuple'>

#3. Index in Tuple Python

An index represents the position number of a tuple’s elements. The index starts at 0 onwards and is written in square braces.

Example:- data = (1, -89, “test”, “TechPlusLifeStyle”)

This index shows positive and negative indices in 2 ways. The positive index starts from the 0 positions while the negative index -1 refers to the last element, -2 refers to the second last element, and so on.

Positive Index

Negative Index

#4. Accessing Tuple Element

There are several ways in which we can access elements in Tuple. Let’s check the above example for Positive and Negative Indexing.

Example for Positive indexing

data = (1, -89, "test", "TechPlusLifeStyle")
print(data[0])
print(data[1])
print(data[2])
print(data[3])

Output

1
-89
test
TechPlusLifeStyle

Example for Negative indexing

data = (1, -89, "test", "TechPlusLifeStyle")
print(data[-4])
print(data[-3])
print(data[-2])
print(data[-1])

Output

1
-89
test
TechPlusLifeStyle

#5. Add or Update Tuple Element

Tuples are immutable so we can’t modify Tuple’s elements like a list data type.

Tuple’s elements cannot be changed once they are assigned, but if the element is a mutable like list data type, then its nested items can be changed.

data = (1, -89, "test", "TechPlusLifeStyle", [5, 7, 6])
data[4][1] = 9
print(data)

Output

[1, -89, "test",(1, -89, 'test', 'TechPlusLifeStyle', [5, 9, 6]) 

We can use the + operator to combine two different tuples. We can also repeat the elements in the tuple for a given number using the * operator.

Example

data = (1, -89, "test", "TechPlusLifeStyle")
data1 = (5, 7, "test2")

print(data + data1)

data3 = ("test", "test1")
print(data3 * 4)

Output

(1, -89, 'test', 'TechPlusLifeStyle', 5, 7, 'test2')
('test', 'test1', 'test', 'test1', 'test', 'test1', 'test', 'test1')

#6. Delete or Remove elements from Tuple

Deleting a tuple completely, however, is possible using the del keyword, but we can’t delete elements from Tuple, because Tuple is immutable so we can’t change Tuple’s elements.

data = (1, 2, 3, 4)
del data
print(data)

Output

Traceback (most recent call last):                                                                                        File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>                                                                                   NameError: name 'data' is not defined 

Interview question

Q: Difference between Tuple and List?

Ans: 1) List objects are mutable and Tuple objects are immutable.
        2) Tuples are faster than the list.

Q: Why is tuple faster than the list in Python?

Ans: Tuple is stored in a single block of memory. The list is stored in two blocks 
         of memory. That's why Tuple is faster than Python's list.

#7. Python Tuple Slice

Slice Operator: Using (colon) we can enter the range of items in the Tuple.

data = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

# elements 2nd to 5th
print(data [1:5])

# elements beginning to 6th
print(data [:-3])

# elements 3rd to end
print(data [2:])

# elements beginning to end
print(data [:])

Output

(2, 3, 4, 5)  # output of data[1:5]
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)  # output of data[:-3]
(3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)  # output of data[2:]
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)   # output of data[:]

#8. Python Tuple Methods

The methods available with the Tuple objects in Python programming are in the table below.

Some examples of Python methods

data = (4, 8, 1, 6, 8)

# index() method
print(data.index(8))

# count() method
print(data.count(8))

Output

1
2

I hope you understand the use of “Tuple in Python”. Still, you have any doubts please comment below.

Check out the official site for more details on “Tuple in Python”.