Home >>Python Tutorial >The Python Array

The Python Array

The Arrays

This is the python arrays functions module of the Python tutorial. And as we have discussed before, that as a developer if you ever need to store multiple values in a single variable then it is recommended that you should use arrays. For example, if you have to create an array that contains just the names of cars then

cars = [“Ford”, “Volvo”, “BMW”]

An Array- The Basic Characteristics

An array can basically be defined as a type of special variable that has the capacity to hold more than a single value at any particular time. This can be better understood with the help of a python array example in which you have a list of items say the names of a few cars. And you want to store the names of those cars this can look like the list mentioned below.

car1 = “Ford” ;

car2 = “Volvo” ;

car3 = “BMW” ;

Now imagine a particular scenario where you had to loop through a list of cars just like this but the difference was that instead of just 3 car names you had 300. This task can become a lot more daunting in such a situation but a perfect solution to solve such a daunting task is with the help of this python array element. Here an array can help you because of its ability to hold a number of values under just one single name. You can also refer to that particular value with the help of its index number. It is also important for you to know that this programming language does not possess an inbuilt support for arrays but you can choose to Python lists instead of that.

To Access the Elements of an Array

As we have mentioned before, that if you wish to access any particular element of an array then you can do that by referring to the index number of that particular array element. For example, if you wish to access the value of the first array element then you can do that in the way mentioned below

x = cars [ 0 ]

Also, if you wish to modify or change the value of the first array item in the python array list then you can do that in the way mentioned below.

cars [ 0 ] = “Toyota”

The Length of an Array

If you wish to find out the length of an array or the number of elements that are present in an array then you can do that with the help of the len () method. For example

x = len (cars)

It is also important for you to know that the length of an array will always be one more than the highest array index.

To Loop Through Array Elements

If you wish to loop through all the items that are present in an array then you can do that by using the for in loop method. For example, if you wish to use the function of python print array to print all the items that are present in the cars array then you can do that in the format mentioned below.

for x in cars:

  print ( x )

To Add Array Elements

If you wish to add more numbers of Python array elements to an array then you can do that with the help of the append () method. For example, if you want to add one more element to the cars array that you created earlier then

cars.append (“Honda”)

To Remove Array Elements

If you wish to remove any particular elements that might be already present in the array that you created then it is suggested that you should use the pop () method. If you wish to delete the second element from the array that you created earlier then the python array example for this is mentioned below

cars.pop ( 1 )

It is also important for you to remember that if you do not wish to use the above-mentioned method then you can also use the remove () method. If you wish to remove the element with the value of “Volvo” then the python print example for this is mentioned below

cars.remove (“Volvo”)

While using the remove () method you should also keep it in mind that you can only remove the first occurrence of the value that you specified with the help of this method.

The Array Methods

In this programming language, there are a number of different methods that are built-in and that you can use on any particular list or arrays. And those Python array list of built-in methods is mentioned below.

The Method	The Description
append ( )	Helps in adding a particular item at the end of a list
clear ( )	Helps in removing all the items from the entire list
copy ( )	Helps in returning a copy of a particular list
count ( )	Helps in returning the number of items or elements that have the specified value
extend ( )	Helps in adding a particular at the end of the list or the iterable
index ( )	Helps in returning the first element of the specified value
insert ( )	Helps in adding an element at the position that is specified
pop ( )	Helps in removing the element present on the specified position
remove ( )	Helps in removing the first item with the value that is specified
reverse ( )	Helps in reversing the order of the entire list
sort ( )	Helps in sorting the entire list

These are all the major build-in methods that you can use in the lists or arrays that you build in this programming language. You should also remember the fact that we mentioned above regarding python not having an inbuilt support for arrays but instead, you can also choose to use python lists. With this, we complete the python array functions part of this entire python tutorial.

« Previous Next »