beginnerData Structures

Tuples

Immutable ordered sequences for fixed collections.

In this lesson

01Creating Tuples
02Tuple Unpacking
03When to Use Tuples

01Creating Tuples

Tuples are immutable sequences defined with parentheses. Once created, elements cannot be changed.

Python

1point = (3, 4)
2colors = ("red", "green", "blue")
3single = (42,)   # comma needed for single element
4
5print(point[0])      # 3
6print(len(colors))   # 3
7print(type(single))  # <class 'tuple'>

Output

3
3
<class 'tuple'>

02Tuple Unpacking

Assign tuple elements to multiple variables at once.

Python

1coordinates = (10, 20, 30)
2x, y, z = coordinates
3
4print(x, y, z)
5
6# Swap variables elegantly
7a, b = 1, 2
8a, b = b, a
9print(a, b)

Output

10 20 30
2 1

03When to Use Tuples

Use tuples for data that should not change: coordinates, RGB colors, database records, dictionary keys, and function returns of multiple values.

Python

1def get_name_and_age():
2    return "Alice", 30
3
4name, age = get_name_and_age()
5print(f"{name} is {age} years old")

Output

Alice is 30 years old

Lists

Dictionaries