Python Tuple

Tuple in Python is a built-in data type, used to store multiple items in a single variable. For example:

x = (120, 42, 350)
print(x)

x = (12, "codescracker", True, 12.42)
print(x)

The output is:

(120, 42, 350)
(12, 'codescracker', True, 12.42)

Note - Items of a single tuple can be of multiple types.

Note - Items of a tuple are separated with comma, and the whole items are enclosed within a round brackets or ().

Important - In tuple, items are ordered and unchangeable. Also, tuple items allows duplicates.

Ordered means, indexes assigned to all items when a tuple is created. For example, if a tuple of 5 items is created, then 0 will be the index number of first item, 1 will be the index number of second item, and so on. For example:

x = (12, "codescracker", True, 12.42)
print(x[0])
print(x[3])

The output is:

12
12.42

Unchangeable means, we can not change the item of a tuple, after creating it. And two or more items in a tuple can be the same value. For example:

x = (12, "codescracker", True, 12.42, 12, "codescracker", 12)
print(x)

The output is:

(12, 'codescracker', True, 12.42, 12, 'codescracker', 12)

Create an Empty Tuple in Python

There are two ways to create an empty tuple in Python. That is, to create an empty tuple, we can use either the tuple() constructor or the round bracket without an item. For example:

x = tuple()
y = ()

Create a Tuple with Items in Python

To create a tuple with items, separate items with comma, and enclose whole items inside a round bracket, and initialize to a variable say a, just like:

a = (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20)

Access Items of a Tuple in Python

To access an item of a tuple, here is the syntax:

x[index]

where x refers to the tuple, index refers to the index number of the item, that is going to be accessed. For example:

x = (10, 20, 50, 60)
print(x[2])

The output is:

Access Tuple Items using Negative Indexing in Python

The -1 refers to the last index. If there is a tuple named x in your Python program, then x[-1] refers to the last item or element of the tuple, x. For example, the following program prints the last item of a tuple:

mytuple = (12, 43, 65, 76)
print(mytuple[-1])

The output of course will be 76. Negative indexing is sometime useful, when we need to get the last item without using the length of the tuple.

Find Length of a Tuple in Python

Sometime we need to get the length of an anonymous tuple to either iterate the tuple, or to do any specific task. Therefore, Python provides a built-in function named len() that returns the length of a sequence like tuple. For example:

a = (2, 4, 6, 8, 10)
print(len(a))

The output is:

Must Include a Comma to Create a Tuple with Single Item in Python

To create a tuple in Python that contains single item, a comma after the item needs to be provide to keep it a tuple, instead, a string. For example:

x = ("python",)
print(type(x))

x = ("python")
print(type(x))

The output is:

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

I think this needs to be fix by the Python's creator. I mean it is too confusing that a tuple with single items must contain a comma to keep it a tuple. But an empty tuple can be created simply using (). I mean, to create either an empty or a multi-items tuple, no extra comma is needed.

Nested Tuple in Python

A tuple can also be used an an item of another tuple. Python allows to nest a tuple inside another. For example:

x = ("Jack", (15, "Dec", 2021), "EECS", "MIT")
print(x)

The output is:

('Jack', (15, 'Dec', 2021), 'EECS', 'MIT')

Access Nested Tuple Items in Python

Each and every items of a tuple that are nested inside another tuple, can be accessed individually. That is, the whole tuple that are nested to another tuple, considered as an item.

Therefore the first index will be the whole tuple, and the second index refers to the item number of nested tuple. For example:

x = ("Jack", (15, "Dec", 2021), "EECS", "MIT")
print(x[1])
print(x[1][0])
print(x[1][1])
print(x[1][2])

The output is:

(15, 'Dec', 2021)
15
Dec
2021

Tuple Slicing in Python

Items of a tuple can be sliced. The syntax to slice a tuple in Python is:

mytuple[startIndex:stopIndex]

where the startIndex is included and stopIndex is excluded. For example, x[3:7] returns all the items of x, from index number 3 to index number 6. For example:

x = (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50)

print(x[3:7])

The output is:

(20, 25, 30, 35)

Tuple Concatenation/addition in Python

To concatenate or add two tuples in Python, use + (plus) operator. For example:

a = (1, 3, 6)
b = (2, 3, 8, 12)
c = a + b
print(c)

a = (10, 20, 30)
b = (40, 50)
a = a + b
print(a)

a += a
print(a)

print((1, 2) + (3, 4))
print(("codescracker", True) + ("codes cracker", False))

The output is:

(1, 3, 6, 2, 3, 8, 12)
(10, 20, 30, 40, 50)
(10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50)
(1, 2, 3, 4)
('codescracker', True, 'codes cracker', False)

Iterating Through a Tuple in Python

We can iterate through a tuple to print all items of a tuple, one by one. For example:

mytuple = (12, 42, "Python", "is", "Fun", 15, True, 12.42)

for x in mytuple:
    print(x)

The output is:

12
42
Python
is
Fun
15
True
12.42

See how short the code is. Previously, we're using separate print() statement to print each and every items of a tuple, one by one. But now, using a for loop, the whole items of tuple are printed using a single print() statement.

Print Tuple Items in Single Line

The above program can also be modified to print all items of a tuple, in a single line. For example:

mytuple = (15, "Dec", 2021, True, "Today", "Date")

for x in mytuple:
    print(x, end=" ")

Now the output is:

15 Dec 2021 True Today Date

Note - The end= parameter skips the insertion of an automatic newline after print().

We can also create the above program in this way. This program uses the index numbers to print all the items of a tuple, while iterating using for loop:

mytuple = (15, "Dec", 2021, True, "Today", "Date")

for i in range(len(mytuple)):
    print(mytuple[i], end=" ")

You'll get the same output as of above one.

Check Whether an Element is in Tuple or Not in Python

Use the in operator or keyword to check whether a specified element is available in a specified tuple or not. For example, the following program receives a number from user to check whether it is available in the tuple say x or not:

x = (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70)

print("Enter a Number to Search: ", end="")
num = int(input())

if num in x:
    print("\nThe given value is available in the tuple.")
else:
    print("\nThe given value is not available in the tuple.")

The snapshot given below shows the sample run with user input 30 as number to check: