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Practice

Representative Ways to Use Tuples

In this lesson, we'll explore the key usage of tuples, specifically unpacking and converting tuples to lists.


Assigning Tuple Values to Multiple Variables at Once​

Unpacking refers to the method of assigning multiple values within a tuple to individual variables.

For example, given a tuple (1, 2, 3), you can split its values into three variables a, b, and c all at once as shown below.

Tuple Unpacking Example
# Creating a tuple
my_tuple = (1, 2, 3)

# Unpacking
a, b, c = my_tuple

print(a)  # Outputs 1
print(b)  # Outputs 2
print(c)  # Outputs 3

By utilizing unpacking, you can avoid the hassle of assigning each value individually, as shown below.

Assigning Individually
# Creating a tuple
my_tuple = (1, 2, 3)

# Assigning individually
a = my_tuple[0]
b = my_tuple[1]
c = my_tuple[2]

Unpacking is especially useful when a function returns multiple values.


Converting Between Lists and Tuples as Needed​

There are times when you may want to convert a tuple to a list to modify its values or convert a list to a tuple to fix its values.

In such cases, Python allows easy conversion using the list() and tuple() functions.


Converting a Tuple to a List​

To convert a tuple to a list, use the list() function.

Converting Tuple to List
my_tuple = (1, 2, 3)
my_list = list(my_tuple)

print(my_list)  # Outputs [1, 2, 3]

Once converted, the list can be freely modified by adding or updating its values.


Converting a List to a Tuple​

Conversely, to convert a list to a tuple, use the tuple() function.

Converting List to Tuple
my_list = [1, 2, 3]
my_tuple = tuple(my_list)

print(my_tuple)  # Outputs (1, 2, 3)

When converted to a tuple, the values are fixed, allowing you to use them safely without worrying about modifications.

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