Background
In this post, we will see the different ways to iterate over a list in Python.
Different ways to iterate over a list in Python
Using for loop
A simple way to iterate over a list is to use a for loop.
names = ["A", "B", "C"]
for name in names:
print(name)
This prints
A
B
C
Using for loop with range
You can also use a for loop with range if you want to access the list with it's index
names = ["A", "B", "C"]
for name in names:
print(name)
This also prints
A
B
C
Using enumerate
If you want index and value both then you can use enumerate as follows
names = ["A", "B", "C"]
for idx, name in enumerate(names):
print(f"{name} at index {idx}")
This prints
A at index 0
B at index 1
C at index 2
Using while loop
You can also use a while loop for iterating over a list as follows
names = ["A", "B", "C"]
i=0
while i<len(names):
print(names[i])
i = i + 1This prints:
A
B
C
List Comprehension
List comprehension is a more concise way to iterate over a list.
names = ["A", "B", "C"] [print(name) for name in names]
This prints:
A
B
C
If you print above list it will print [None, None, None] as you are not creating any new element for storing in new list on iterating the original list
NOTE: This creates a new list and is not a recommended way to iterate over a list. You can use this if you have a usecase to create a new list from existing one with filtering or modifying the original list.
