Tuples in Python

Python Tuple is a collection of objects separated by commas. In some ways, a tuple is similar to a list in terms of indexing, nested objects, and repetition but a tuple is immutable, unlike lists which are mutable.

Creating Python Tuples

To create a tuple we will use () operators.

Python

var = ("Geeks", "for", "Geeks")
print(var)

Output:

('Geeks', 'for', 'Geeks')

A new way of creating Python Tuples in Python 3.11 –

Python3

values : tuple[int | str, ...] = (1,2,4,"Geek")

print(values)

Output – 

(1, 2, 4, 'Geek')

Here, in the above snipper we are considering a variable called values which holds a tuple which consists of either int or str , the ‘…’ means that the tuple will hold more than one int or str

Note: In case your generating a tuple with a single element, make sure to add a comma after the element.

Accessing Values in Python Tuples

Method 1: Using Positive Index

Using square brackets we can get the values from tuples in Python.

Python3

var = ("Geeks", "for", "Geeks")

print("Value in Var[0] = ", var[0])
print("Value in Var[1] = ", var[1])
print("Value in Var[2] = ", var[2])

Output:

Value in Var[0] =  Geeks
Value in Var[1] =  for
Value in Var[2] =  Geeks

Time complexity: O(1).
Auxiliary space: O(1).

Method 2: Using Negative Index.

In the above methods, we use the positive index to access the value in Python, and here we will use -ve index within [].

Python3

var = ("Geeks", "for", "Geeks")

print("Value in Var[-3] = ", var[-3])
print("Value in Var[-2] = ", var[-2])
print("Value in Var[-1] = ", var[-1])

Output:

Value in Var[-3] =  Geeks
Value in Var[-2] =  for
Value in Var[-1] =  Geeks

Concatenation of Python Tuples

To concatenate the Python tuple we will use plus operators(+).

Python

# Code for concatenating 2 tuples

tuple1 = (0, 1, 2, 3)
tuple2 = ('python', 'geek')

# Concatenating above two
print(tuple1 + tuple2)

Output:

(0, 1, 2, 3, 'python', 'geek')

Nesting of Python Tuples

Python

# Code for creating nested tuples

tuple1 = (0, 1, 2, 3)
tuple2 = ('python', 'geek')
tuple3 = (tuple1, tuple2)
print(tuple3)

Output :

((0, 1, 2, 3), ('python', 'geek'))

Repetition Python Tuples

Python

# Code to create a tuple with repetition

tuple3 = ('python',)*3
print(tuple3)

Output:

 ('python', 'python', 'python')

Try the above without a comma and check. You will get tuple3 as a string ‘pythonpythonpython’. 

Immutable Python Tuples

Python

# code to test that tuples are immutable

tuple1 = (0, 1, 2, 3)
tuple1[0] = 4
print(tuple1)

Output:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "e0eaddff843a8695575daec34506f126.py", line 3, in
    tuple1[0]=4
TypeError: 'tuple' object does not support item assignment

Slicing Python Tuples

Python

# code to test slicing

tuple1 = (0 ,1, 2, 3)
print(tuple1[1:])
print(tuple1[::-1])
print(tuple1[2:4])

Output:

(1, 2, 3)
(3, 2, 1, 0)
(2, 3)

Deleting a Tuple

Python

# Code for deleting a tuple

tuple3 = ( 0, 1)
del tuple3
print(tuple3)

Error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "d92694727db1dc9118a5250bf04dafbd.py", line 6, in <module>
    print(tuple3)
NameError: name 'tuple3' is not defined

Output:

(0, 1)

Finding Length of a Tuple

Python

# Code for printing the length of a tuple

tuple2 = ('python', 'geek')
print(len(tuple2))

Output:

 2

Converting list to a Tuple

Python

# Code for converting a list and a string into a tuple

list1 = [0, 1, 2]
print(tuple(list1))
print(tuple('python')) # string 'python'

Output:

(0, 1, 2)
('p', 'y', 't', 'h', 'o', 'n')

Takes a single parameter which may be a list, string, set or even a dictionary( only keys are taken as elements) and converts them to a tuple.

Tuples in a loop

Python

# python code for creating tuples in a loop

tup = ('geek',)
n = 5  # Number of time loop runs
for i in range(int(n)):
    tup = (tup,)
    print(tup)

Output:

(('geek',),)
((('geek',),),)
(((('geek',),),),)
((((('geek',),),),),)
(((((('geek',),),),),),)