Summary: in this tutorial, you’ll learn about Python tuples and how to use them effectively.

Introduction to Python tuples

Sometimes, you want to create a list of items that cannot be changed throughout the program. Tuples allow you to do that.

A tuple is a list that cannot change. Python refers to a value that cannot change as immutable. So by definition, a tuple is an immutable list.

Defining a tuple

A tuple is like a list except that it uses parentheses () instead of square brackets [].

The following example defines a tuple called rgb:

Code language: Python (python)

Once you define a tuple, you can access an individual element by its index, just. For example:

Code language: Python (python)

Outptut:

Code language: Python (python)

Since a tuple is immutable, you cannot change its elements. The following example attempts to change the first element of the rgb tuple to 'yellow':

Code language: Python (python)

And it results in an error:

Code language: Python (python)

Defining a tuple that has one element

To define a tuple with one element, you need to include a trailing comma after the first element. For example:

Code language: Python (python)

Output:

Code language: Python (python)

If you exclude the trailing comma, the type of the numbers will be int , which stands for integer. And its value is 3. Python won’t create a tuple that includes the number 3:

Code language: Python (python)

Output:

Code language: Python (python)

Assigning a tuple

Even though you can’t change a tuple, you can assign a new tuple to a variable that references a tuple. For example:

Code language: Python (python)

Summary

• Tuples are immutable lists.
• Use tuples when you want to define a list that cannot change.