Lists in Python

Python knows a number of compound data types, used to group together other values. The most versatile is the list, which can be written as a list of comma-separated values (items) between square brackets. Lists might contain items of different types, but usually the items all have the same type.

Like strings lists can be indexed and sliced.

All slice operations return a new list containing the requested elements. This means that the following slice returns a new (shallow) copy of the list.

Lists also support operations like concatenation.

Unlike strings, which are immutable, lists are a mutable type.

We can also add new items at the end of the list, by using the append() method.

Assignment to slices is also possible, and this can even change the size of the list or clear it entirely.

The built-in function len() also applies to lists.

It is possible to nest lists (create lists containing other lists).