Are Python Lists Mutable

Yes, Python lists are mutable. This means you can change their content without changing their identity. You can add, remove, or modify items in a list after it has been created.

Here are some examples demonstrating the mutability of Python lists:

Example 1: Creating List

Python

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
my_list[1] = 20  # Change the second element
print(my_list)
# Output: [1, 20, 3]

Output

[1, 20, 3]

Example 2: Adding Elements

You can add elements to a list using methods like append(), extend(), or the += operator.

Python

my_list.append(4)  # Adding an element to the end
print(my_list)
# Output: [1, 20, 3, 4]

my_list += [5, 6]  # Extending the list with more elements
print(my_list)

Output:

[1, 20, 3, 4]
[1, 20, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Conclusion

Python lists are indeed mutable, which means their content can be changed after they are created. This mutability feature allows for the addition, removal, or modification of elements within a list without the need to create a new list. For example, you can use methods like append() to add new elements to the end of a list, insert() to add them at a specific position, or remove() to delete specific elements. Furthermore, you can update the value of an element directly by accessing it through its index, such as my_list[0] = ‘new value’. This ability to change lists in-place makes them highly flexible and suitable for a wide range of applications, from simple data storage to complex data structures like stacks, queues, and more. The mutability of lists is a key feature that distinguishes them from tuples, another Python data structure, which are immutable and cannot be changed once created. This characteristic of lists, combined with their ability to store items of different data types, makes them one of the most widely used data structures in Python programming.