Input list

Introduction:

  • To read input values entered by the user in the console into a list in Python, you can use the input() function along with the string split() method.

How It Works:

  • The input() function reads the entire user input as a string.
  • The split() method splits this input string into a list of values based on a specified separator.

Examples:

  1. Reading Space-Separated Values:
    • Steps:
      1. Prompt the user for input using the input() function.
      2. Read user input as a string into a variable.
      3. Split the string into values using the split() method. (By default, split() uses whitespace as the separator.)
      4. Store the list returned by split() in a variable.

    • Code:

      python
      # Read input into a string
x = input("Enter values: ")

# Split input values in string into list
x_list = x.split()

print(f"List: {x_list}")

    • Output:

       
      Enter values: apple banana cherry
List: ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

    • Converting Values to Integers:

      • If the values entered are numbers, convert the values in the list to integers.
      python
      # Read input into a string
x = input("Enter values: ")

# Split input values in string into list
x_list = x.split()

# Convert the values in list to integers
x_list = [int(x) for x in x_list]

print(f"List: {x_list}")

    • Output:

       
      Enter values: 10 20 30 40 50
List: [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
  2. Reading Comma-Separated Values:
    • Steps:
      1. Prompt the user for input using the input() function.
      2. Read user input as a string into a variable.
      3. Split the string into values using the split() method, with a comma , as the separator.

    • Code:

      python
      # Read input into a string
x = input("Enter values: ")

# Split input values in string by comma into list
x_list = x.split(",")

print(f"List: {x_list}")

    • Output:

       
      Enter values: apple,banana,cherry
List: ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

Exercises:

  1. Read Space-Separated Numbers:

    • Write a program to read space-separated numbers from the user and store them in a list.

      python
      x = input("Enter numbers: ")
x_list = [int(num) for num in x.split()]
print(f"Numbers list: {x_list}")
  2. Read Comma-Separated Fruits:

    • Write a program to read comma-separated fruit names from the user and store them in a list.

      python
      x = input("Enter fruit names: ")
fruits_list = x.split(",")
print(f"Fruits list: {fruits_list}")

Summary:

  • In this tutorial, you learned how to read user input values from the console and store them in a list using the input() and split() methods in Python. Practice reading both space-separated and comma-separated values to become proficient in handling user input in Python!