python lists access

Access Items

List items are indexed and you can access them by referring to the index number:

Example

Print the second item of the list:



thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(thislist[1])



Try it Yourself »

Example

Print the second item of the list:

Note: The first item has index 0.

Negative Indexing

Negative indexing means start from the end

-1 refers to the last item,

-2 refers to the second last item etc.

Example

Print the last item of the list:



thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(thislist[-1])



Try it Yourself »

Example

Print the last item of the list:

Range of Indexes

You can specify a range of indexes by specifying where to start and where to

end the range.

When specifying a range, the return value will be a new list with the

specified items.

Example

Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:



thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange",

"kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[2:5])



Try it Yourself »

Example

Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:

Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).

Remember that the first item has index 0.

By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first item:

Example

This example returns the items from the beginning to, but NOT including, "kiwi":



thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange",

"kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[:4])



Try it Yourself »

Example

This example returns the items from the beginning to, but NOT including, "kiwi":

By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of the list:

Example

This example returns the items from "cherry" to the end:



thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange",

"kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[2:])



Try it Yourself »

Example

This example returns the items from "cherry" to the end:

Range of Negative Indexes

Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the

list:

Example

This example returns the items from "orange" (-4) to, but NOT including

"mango" (-1):



thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange",

"kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[-4:-1])



Try it Yourself »

Example

This example returns the items from "orange" (-4) to, but NOT including

"mango" (-1):

Check if Item Exists

To determine if a specified item is present in a list use the in keyword:

Example

Check if "apple" is present in the list:



thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

if "apple" in thislist:  print("Yes, 'apple' is in the fruits list")

Try it Yourself »

Example

Check if "apple" is present in the list: