How to Print a List in Columns with Python

Managing and displaying data efficiently is incredibly important in programming. One common task that you may have come across is the need to display a list in columns in order to provide a clearer view of your data.

In this tutorial, we’ll be focusing on how you can display a list in columns using Python.

Step 1: Create a List

First of all, we need a list to work with. Let’s create a simple list. If you’re unfamiliar with how to create lists in Python, you can learn more about it on Python’s official documentation.

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my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date', 'elderberry', 'fig', 'grape', 'honeydew']

Step 2: Determine the Number of Columns

Next, you must decide on the number of columns you want your list to be divided into. For the purpose of this guide, we’ll sort our list into 2 columns.

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cols = 2

Step 3: Splitting the list into columns

Now, we will use list comprehension coupled with the range function to divide our list into the desired number of columns.

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split_list = [my_list[i:i+cols] for i in range(0, len(my_list), cols)]

Step 4: Display the list in columns

Finally, we will use a for loop to output our list in columns.

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for i in split_list:
    print(i)

Here’s the Full Code

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my_list = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date', 'elderberry', 'fig', 'grape', 'honeydew']
 
cols = 2
 
split_list = [my_list[i:i+cols] for i in range(0, len(my_list), cols)]
 
for i in split_list:
    print(i)

Expected Output

['apple', 'banana']
['cherry', 'date']
['elderberry', 'fig']
['grape', 'honeydew']

Conclusion

The ability to print lists in columns is a vital skill that can greatly enhance your programming capabilities. As you have seen from this guide, Python allows you to achieve this with a few straightforward steps.

By mastering this ability, you can display your data in a coherent and organized fashion, thus enhancing your code’s readability and usability.