List() Function in Python: Complete Guide

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In Python, the built-in list() function converts an iterable object, such as a string or tuple, to a list.

For example, let’s convert a string to a list of characters:

>>> list("Hello")
['H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

In this guide, you are going to see examples of using the list() function and how to make a custom object support it.

When Use list() Function in Python

Use the list() function whenever you need to convert something to a list in Python.

For example, when filtering a list, you get back a filter object.

To convert the filter object to a list, use the list() function:

ages = [32, 2, 17, 90, 23]
adults = filter(lambda x: x >= 18, ages)
adults = list(adults)

print(adults)

Output:

[32, 90, 23]

Examples

Let’s see a bunch of examples of converting from iterables to lists in Python.

List from a Tuple

A tuple is an immutable collection of values in Python. This means you cannot modify the contents of a tuple after creation. However, you can convert a tuple to a list that you can modify if you want to.

For instance:

>>> ages = 10, 20, 30
>>> list(ages)
[10, 20, 30]

List from a Set

A set is a unique collection of elements in Python. A set does not have an order. You can see this when you convert a set to a list.

For example:

>>> names = {"Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"}
>>> list(names)
['Bob', 'Charlie', 'Alice']

List from a String

A string is also an iterable type in Python. In other words, you can convert a string to a list. This returns the characters of the string as a list.

For example:

>>> string = "Hello world"
>>> list(string)
['H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', ' ', 'w', 'o', 'r', 'l', 'd']

List from a Dictionary

When you convert a dictionary to a list in Python, the keys are returned.

For example:

>>> data = {"name": "Alice", "age": 40, "address": "Imaginary Road 26"}
>>> list(data)
['name', 'age', 'address']

The list() Function without a Parameter

If you give the list() function no parameter at all, a new empty list is created.

For example:

empty = list()
print(empty)

Output:

[]

Advanced Example: Call list() on a Custom Object

As you know, you can call list() function on any iterable object in Python.

But how about calling list() on a custom object?

Let’s play with a custom class Fruit. We would like to be able to call the list() function on a Fruit object to get a list of characters in the name of the fruit.

To understand this section, you should have a good understanding of iterators and iterables in Python.

Here is the Fruit class:

class Fruit:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

Now let’s create a Fruit object and call list() function on it:

banana = Fruit("Banana")
letters = list(banana)
print(letters)

Output:

TypeError: 'Fruit' object is not iterable

As you can see, the error says it is not possible to convert a Fruit to a list because it is not iterable.

So the only way to make a Fruit convertible to a list is by making it iterable.

But how?

By definition, an iterable is an object that implements the __iter__() method in the class that returns an iterator.

Without digging too deep into the details, let’s implement the __iter__() method in the Fruit class.

As you know, a string is already an iterable object. This means the str type implements the __iter__() method. To get the characters of the Fruit as a list, you can thus directly call iter() method on the name attribute of the Fruit object. This returns an iterator, that you can return from the custom __iter__() method:

class Fruit:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name
        
    def __iter__(self):
        return iter(self.name)

Now you can call list() function on a Fruit object:

banana = Fruit("Banana")
letters = list(banana)
print(letters)

Output:

['B', 'a', 'n', 'a', 'n', 'a']

A Bonus Example: Remove Duplicates from a List

A common example of using the list() function is when removing duplicates from a list. To do this:

  • Convera a list to a dictionary with the dict.fromkeys() function. This removes all duplicate elements as there can be none in a dictionary.
  • Convert the dictionary back to a list using the list() function.

For example:

nums = [1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, 4, 5]

nums = list(dict.fromkeys(nums))

print(nums)

Output:

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Conclusion

Today you learned what is the list() function in Python.

To recap, the list() function is a built-in function that allows converting any iterable object to a list.

Thanks for reading.

Happy coding!

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