Index and slice

Learn access with list[i] and list[a:b].

We access list items by index. Indexes start at 0: fruits[0] is the first item. A slice takes a part: fruits[0:2] gives the first two items.

fruits = ["Apple", "Pear", "Banana"]
print(fruits[0])    # Apple
print(fruits[0:2])  # ['Apple', 'Pear']
print(fruits[-1])   # Banana

A slice is [start:stop]; stop is excluded. Negative indexes count from the end.

Slice forms

Slices come in three forms:

An empty start/stop means the list start/end. This short form is very handy.

Slicing is handy for extracting a sublist; the original list is unchanged.

Assign fruits = ["Apple", "Pear", "Banana", "Strawberry"]. Print print(fruits[0:2]) and print(fruits[2:]).

Show example solution

fruits = ["Apple", "Pear", "Banana", "Strawberry"]
print(fruits[0:2])
print(fruits[2:])

Complete the slice

fruits = ["Apple", "Pear", "Banana"]
print(fruits[____:2])

Show answer

fruits = ["Apple", "Pear", "Banana"]
print(fruits[0:2])

Next lesson: List methods