Python is a high-level language preferred by everyone these days. It became popular among the developers due to its easy, understandable, and interactive language which benefits the developers a bunch. It incorporates various modules, exceptions, classes, and high-level dynamic data types. Here we will learn – How to convert a list into a string. Python is a high-level programming language that offers a wide range of functionalities and tools to developers. Among its many features are lists and strings, which are fundamental data types used in Python for storing and manipulating information. Lists are mutable and ordered sequences of elements, while strings are immutable and ordered sequences of characters. Both data types have their unique properties and functions, making them essential for any Python programmer to understand and use effectively. In this blog, we will delve into the world of lists and strings in Python, exploring their properties and practical applications. Before we dig dive into subject let me ask you something are you busy and did not have time to do your programming assignment on time? If answer is right. Then contact us now and talk to our experts for urgent coding help.
Python is a general-purpose language and can be used to create any type of program. It also follows an object-oriented approach of programming which too proves to be beneficial for the programmers in terms of writing clear and logical codes for both small and large scale projects. Python also falls into the category of multiple programming i.e.apart from object-oriented programming, it follows the paradigm of both functional and procedural programming.
The basic concepts that python consists are:
- Data types
- Strings
- Flow control statements
- Functions
- Classes
- Exceptions
- File i/o
- Conditions and variables
In this article, we will focus solely on 2 concepts: Lists and Strings and everything you need to know about them including how to convert a list into a string.
What are Lists?
If we talk about lists in general, then, a list is an ordered sequence of actions or objects kept together. The list in computer science is no different than this. ” A list is a data structure that has a sequential ordered finite number of items that are enclosed within square brackets and separated by a comma “.
Example:
List1 =[1,2,3]
List2 =[‘hii’, ‘apple’, ‘orange’]
This is called a single data type list.
List3 =[‘hello’, 2,’rose’, 5]
This is called a mix data type list.
The actions you can perform over lists are creation, subsetting, deletion, addition and looping. To know the syntax of these actions click the link below.
Refer to this link for the syntax of different actions in list: https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2021/04/understanding-the-concept-of-list/
Lists can be considered as a dynamically sized array and they can be declared in other languages as well( vector in C++ and ArrayList in Java ). The advantage of lists is that they are not homogeneous i.e. work with identical or same functions or methods. Hence, they are versatile and this makes lists the most powerful tool in python programming. A single list can contain various data types like integers, strings, and objects as well. As the definition says, lists in python are definite and ordered. And each element is ordered as per its index. The first index starts with 0.
What is a string?
If we go with a proper definition, it says, a string is an array of sequenced characters and is written within quotations ( it can be single, double or triple ).
Python doesn’t have a data type called character. Therefore, any character or alphabet used within quotes will be considered as a string and a single character is stored as a string with length 1. Here, Square brackets are used to access elements in the string.
Note: We use triple quotes in a string when we have both single and double quotes in a string and when we want to write multi-line sentences.
We need to also take care while using single quotes as the string should not include a single quote in it. If that happens, Python will automatically assume that the line has finished with the start of the second quote and the desired output will not be gained. Therefore, the same notation should be followed with double quotes and triple quotes as well.
You can perform various actions in string like creating string, accessing string, string slicing, deletion, updation, formatting and many more. To know how you can perform certain actions on a string click the link below.
You can check Python Strings.
How to convert a list to a string?
Converting list into string is no big deal. It is commonly done to display the contents of converted lists (list to string) and to perform string manipulation on it. There are many different methods that you can use to convert a list into string. Here we will cover 4 different ways.
1. With the help of join function [join()] : Convert a list into string
The most convenient way of converting a list to string is using the join() method. This method takes the iterables(list), join them, and then return the value as string. However, the value that we converted into must be in string data type.
Syntax of join():
string.join(iterable)
Here, string works as a separator, and iterables can be anything: lists, tuple, sets etc.
2. With the help of map function and join function together[map(), join()]
The map function can be used in 2 cases:
- If the list has only numbers
- And if the list is heterogenous i.e. there are more than 1 data types
The join() method is used to convert only string whereas map() is used to convert integer.
Syntax of map():
map(function, iterables)
Here,function executes the specific function that we asked for and iterable is value consisting object.
3. With the help of loop
The third method to convert lists into string is to use loop to every object and and add it to the string. This method is not recommended as python has a feature to create a new string every time you append an object. This method follows a slow process and must be used only to understand the concept of conversion of lists into string in python.
4. With the help of list comprehension
List comprehension generates a list of elements from an existing list in python. It then uses the ‘for’ loop to traverse the objects in a sequential order.
In order to convert a list into string, python list comprehension and join() function is used. The list comprehension will span the elements one by one, and the join() method will connect the list’s elements into new string and return the string as an output.
Also, you can check Python Services here. Now learn how to reverse a string in Java.