How To Append To A List In Python

If you work with Python, you often deal with lists. Lists are versatile and one of the most frequently used data types in Python. They can help you organize and manipulate data efficiently.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced developer, you will often need to append elements to a list as you work on various tasks. In this tutorial, you will learn how to append to a list in Python using different techniques.

Step 1. Simple Appending with List Method

To simply append an element to the end of the list, you can use the append() method. The syntax for this method is as follows:

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list_name.append(element)

Here is an example that demonstrates how to use the append() method:

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numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
numbers.append(5)
print(numbers)

The output of this code would be

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Step 2. Appending Multiple Elements with List Method extend()

If you need to append multiple elements to a list, you can use the extend() method. The syntax for this method looks like:

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list_name.extend(iterable)

Note that the argument must be iterable (list, tuple, string, etc.). Here is an example using the extend() method:

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numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
more_numbers = [5, 6, 7, 8]
numbers.extend(more_numbers)
print(numbers)

The output of this code would be

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Step 3. Appending Elements with List Concatenation

Another way to append elements to a list is through concatenation using the + operator. This method allows you to add two lists together easily. The syntax for this method is as follows:

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list_name = list_name + another_list

Here is an example to demonstrate list concatenation:

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numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
more_numbers = [5, 6, 7]
result = numbers + more_numbers
print(result)

The output of this code would be

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Excited to try these methods on your own? Let’s sum up these three ways to append to a list in Python and practice them!

Full Code

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numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
numbers.append(5)
print(numbers)
 
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
more_numbers = [5, 6, 7, 8]
numbers.extend(more_numbers)
print(numbers)
 
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
more_numbers = [5, 6, 7]
result = numbers + more_numbers
print(result)

Output

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Conclusion

Appending to a list in Python is an essential operation, and this tutorial covered three different methods to accomplish it. You learned how to use the append() method for single elements, the extend() method for multiple elements, and list concatenation using the + operator. Now you can efficiently append elements to a list according to your programming needs. Happy coding!