enumerate(): adds a counter to an iterable

my_list=['One','Two','Three','Four']
en=enumerate(my_list)
print(list(en))

[(0, 'One'), (1, 'Two'), (2, 'Three'), (3, 'Four')]

my_list=['Alex','Ronald','John'] 
for i, my_name in enumerate(my_list): 
	print('Name #{}: {}'.format(i + 1, my_name))

Name #1: Alex
Name #2: Ronald
Name #3: John

Using start option

my_list=('One','Two','Three','Four') 
en=enumerate(my_list,100) 
print(list(en))

[(100, 'One'), (101, 'Two'), (102, 'Three'), (103, 'Four')]

my_str='plus2net'
en=enumerate(my_str) 
print(list(en))

[(0, 'p'), (1, 'l'), (2, 'u'), (3, 's'), (4, '2'), (5, 'n'), (6, 'e'), (7, 't')]

Example 1: Enumerating a List with a Custom Start Index

By default, enumerate() starts counting from 0, but we can specify a different starting index using the start parameter.

languages = ['Python', 'C++', 'Java', 'Ruby']
for index, language in enumerate(languages, 1):
    print(f"Language {index}: {language}")

Language 1: Python
Language 2: C++
Language 3: Java
Language 4: Ruby

Example 2: Enumerating a Tuple

The enumerate() function can also be used with tuples to access both index and value.

my_tuple = ('apple', 'banana', 'cherry')
for index, value in enumerate(my_tuple):
    print(f"Index {index}: {value}")

Index 0: apple
Index 1: banana
Index 2: cherry

Example 4: Enumerating a List of Tuples

When working with a list of tuples, enumerate() can be particularly useful to keep track of the index while unpacking the tuple elements.

students = [('Alice', 85), ('Bob', 90), ('Charlie', 78)]
for index, (name, score) in enumerate(students, 1):
    print(f"Student {index}: {name} scored {score}")

Student 1: Alice scored 85
Student 2: Bob scored 90
Student 3: Charlie scored 78

Example 5: Enumerating a Dictionary

While dictionaries are not sequences, they are iterable. Using enumerate() with dictionaries allows us to access the index along with the key-value pairs.

my_dict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}
for index, (key, value) in enumerate(my_dict.items()):
    print(f"Index {index}: Key = {key}, Value = {value}")

Index 0: Key = a, Value = 1
Index 1: Key = b, Value = 2
Index 2: Key = c, Value = 3

Use Case: Accessing and Displaying Indexed Data

Enumerating dictionaries is particularly useful when displaying data in an ordered way, such as creating an indexed list of user settings, storing configuration details, or managing key-value pairs with position tracking.

Best Practices

• Use enumerate() when you need to keep track of an index while iterating.
• For dictionary enumeration, use my_dict.items() to retrieve both keys and values.
• Consider using start argument in enumerate() if a custom index starting value is required.
• When working with large dictionaries, ensure efficient memory usage by avoiding unnecessary type conversions.

Checking data type

my_list=['One','Two','Three','Four']
en=enumerate(my_list)
print(type(en))   # <class 'enumerate'>

Subhendu Mohapatra

AUTHOR

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