Collections

Tuples

Tuples group a fixed number of positional values.

Use a tuple for a fixed-size record where each position has a known meaning. Unpacking turns those positions into names at the point of use.

Source

point = (3, 4)
x, y = point
print(x + y)

Output

Tuples are sequences, so indexing and len() work. They are different from lists because their length and item references are fixed after creation.

Source

red = (255, 0, 0)
print(red[0])
print(len(red))

Output

255
3

Tuples pair naturally with multiple return values and unpacking. If the fields need names everywhere, graduate to a dataclass or named tuple.

Source

record = ("Ada", 10)
name, score = record
print(f"{name}: {score}")

Output

Ada: 10

Lists and tuples carry different intent. A list holds a variable number of similar items and grows with append; a tuple has a fixed shape where each position has its own meaning, and unpacking gives those positions names.

Source

scores = [10, 9, 8]
scores.append(7)
print(scores)

student = ("Ada", 2024, "math")
name, year, subject = student
print(name, year, subject)

Output

[10, 9, 8, 7]
Ada 2024 math

Notes

Tuples are immutable sequences with fixed length.
Use tuples for small records where position has meaning.
Use lists for variable-length collections of similar items.
Reach for a dataclass or NamedTuple when fields deserve names everywhere they're used.

Run the complete example

Expected output

7
255
3
Ada: 10
[10, 9, 8, 7]
Ada 2024 math

Execution time appears here after you run the example.

Tuples

See also

Run the complete example

Example code

Expected output