Understanding Pythons Data Structures- Lists vs. Tuples and Unveiling Dictionaries

Understanding Pythons Data Structures- Lists vs. Tuples and Unveiling Dictionaries

Comparison and Attributes of  Lists and Tuples

Lists and tuples are both data structures used to store a collection of data, which ideally is intended to be processed later in a program. However, there are some key differences that differentiate lists from tuples in Python. Firstly,  lists are mutable; that is, the contents of a list are subject to change once the variable has been created, whereas tuples are immutable. Secondly, lists are defined using square brackets [], whereas tuples are defined using parentheses (). The elements of both lists and tuples are separated using commas. Furthermore, due to their mutability, lists are typically slower to process than tuples, particularly when they contain many elements. Subsequently, lists and tuples have several attributes. They include index, length, and ability to iterate through their elements.

When to Use a Tuple Instead of a List

To begin with, a tuple would be the ideal data structure in the use case when RGB values need to be stored in order to color a graphical user interface because it is expected that the color will not change. However, when storing information about a child’s height, for example, as part of an athletics tracking program in high school, one would be better served by a list, where the height of the student could change as they experience growth spurts over time.

Dictionary in Python

A dictionary is a Python data structure that stores a collection of typically related data values using a key-value pair. A dictionary is defined using curly brackets, and the key-value pairs are separated using a colon. The key-value pairs can be stored in no particular order, allowing dictionaries to be more versatile than, for example, lists or tuples. To access a value, one needs to know its key (Bader, 2023).

An example would be a class in school. A dictionary can be used to store the size of the class, its mean grade, and the student body, as shown below:

class = {

“size”: 5,

“teacher”: “Mary Ann Homer,”

“students”: [‘Alvin,’ ‘Charlton,’ ‘Akash,’ ‘Greene,’ ‘Elmas’] }

Sets

A set is a data structure used to store a collection of unique elements in no particular order. It is defined using curly brackets as well, but there are no key-value pairs as in a dictionary. It is also mutable but lacks indexing. Consistently, sets are used when one is required to store data with no duplicates to store a collection with unique data elements (w3schools, n.d).

References

w3schools (n.d). Python Data Types. https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_datatypes.asp

Bader, D. (2023). Common Python Data Structures (Guide). Real Python. https://realpython.com/python-data-structures/

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Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

Compare lists and tuples. What are the attributes of each? When would you use a tuple instead of a list?

How would you describe a dictionary in Python? Share an example of data that would be included in a dictionary.
What are sets? How are sets used?