Tuples

A tuple is like a list, but immutable: once created it cannot be changed. Tuples are perfect for fixed groups of values that belong together, like a coordinate (x, y) or an RGB color.

What You'll Learn

• Creating tuples and accessing items
• Why immutability is useful
• Unpacking a tuple into variables

Creating Tuples

Tuples use parentheses. A single-item tuple needs a trailing comma:

Immutable on Purpose

Trying to change a tuple raises an error. That is a feature: it protects data that should not change, and it lets tuples be used as dictionary keys (you will see this soon).

Unpacking

You can pull a tuple apart into separate variables in one line. This is clean and very common:

Functions Return Tuples

When a function gives back more than one value, it is returning a tuple. Unpacking makes it readable:

Key Takeaways

• Tuples use parentheses: (1, 2, 3) and cannot be changed
• Access items with the same indexing as lists
• Unpack with a, b = my_tuple
• Use tuples for fixed data and for returning several values at once