Lists are extremely powerful way of storing information in Python. Each list in Python can contain hundreds to tens of thousands of elements, each of which is separated by a comma. 

Further, these List elements can be of one or more types - text, numbers, alphanumericals, even lists and tuples as well.

Lists in Python are denoted by square brackets [ ] in between which all the elements of lists are contained.

Example list -   fruits_name = ['apple', 'mango', 'litchi', 'guava', 'orange']

Here, we have a list named fruits_names which has 5 elements, each of the element is enclosed within inverted commas and each element is separated by a comma. All elements together are enclosed within square brackets, representing that to be a list.

Lists is dynamic in nature which means that elements of lists can be modified - existing elements can be removed and new elements can be added to the list.

Side note - Tuples are similar to lists but are represented by brackets instead of square brackets. There are few more differences which we will discuss in Tuples section.

To create a new list in Python, simply write a meaningful variable name (for example - cars_model, followed by equal to '=' followed by a pair of square brackets [ ].

This creates a empty list named cars_model.

cars_model = []

print(cars_model)

>> [] #represents list with no elements

To add a new element to the list, use addend function. 

For example - cars_model.append('Volvo')

To check how the list is updated, use print(cars_model).

This results in the output - ['Volvo']

cars_model.append('Audi')

cars_model.append('BMW')

cars_model.append('Maruti')

cars_model.append('TATA')

cars_model.append('Land Rover')

Now, print the list - print(cars_model).

The result would be - ['Volvo','Audi',BMW','Maruti','TATA','Land Rover']

Here, the list has 6 elements. 

To check the length of the list, use the len function. print(cars_model.len())

In Python lists, the position or index of the list starts from 0 instead of 1.

To access the elements of Python lists, type the name of Python list along with the index of the element that you want to access. 

For example - print(cars_model[1]) will print out the 2nd element, therefore the value Audi. 

Similarly,  print(cars_model[4]) will print the 5th element, which is TATA.

To remove an element from a Python list, there are several ways - 

• To remove a specific value from a Python list, use the remove function.
  • print(cars_model.remove('BMW')) #this will output ['Volvo','Audi','Maruti','TATA','Land Rover']
• To remove the last element from Python list, use pop()
  • print(cars_model.pop()) #this will output ['Volvo','Audi','Maruti','TATA']
• To remove an element from a specific index of a Python list, use pop('index number')
  • print(cars_model.pop(2)) #this will output ['Volvo','Audi','TATA']

Related tutorials -

• How to install Spyder for using Python?
• How to install Anaconda for using Python?
• How to create a list in Python?
• How to add elements to a list in Python?
• How to sort a Python list?
• How to sort a Python list temporarily?
• How to remove elements from a Python list?
• How to print the Python list in reverse order?
• How to access the Python list elements from the end?
• How to print a range of elements from a Python list?
• How to do slicing of Python lists?
• What are some of the frequently used functions for Python lists?