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Copying a list in Python
schedule Aug 12, 2023
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Tags Python
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There are two main ways to copy a list in Python:
Method copy
The list.copy method can be leveraged to copy a list:
original_list = ['apples', 'bananas', 'pears', 'oranges']copy_list = original_list.copy()print(copy_list)
['apples', 'bananas', 'pears', 'oranges']
Slicing
We create a slice from the very start of original_list to the very end (i.e. copying the entire list)
original_list = ['apples', 'bananas', 'pears', 'oranges']copy_list = original_list[:]print(copy_list)
['apples', 'bananas', 'pears', 'oranges']
Incorrect way to copy
original_list = ['apples','bananas','pears','oranges']copy_list = original_list
The above syntax will lead to copy_list and original_list both pointing to the same list. Therefore updating original_list will also mean copy_list is updated automatically which is something we do not want.
Published by Arthur Yanagisawa
Edited by 0 others
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