Python | Ways to initialize list with alphabets
While working with Python lists, sometimes we wish to initialize the list with the English alphabet a-z or A-Z. This is an essential utility in competitive programming and also in certain applications. Letβs discuss various methods to achieve this using Python.
Initialize the list with alphabets using string.ascii_uppercase
The most pythonic and latest way to perform this particular task. Using this new inbuilt function will internally handle the coding part providing a useful shorthand for the user.
Note: You can use lowercase instead of uppercase to generate lower alphabets.
Python3
import string # initializing empty list test_list = [] # using string for filling alphabets test_list = list (string.ascii_uppercase) # printing resultant list print ( "List after insertion : " + str (test_list)) |
Output :
List after insertion : [βAβ, βBβ, βCβ, βDβ, βEβ, βFβ, βGβ, βHβ, βIβ, βJβ, βKβ, βLβ, βMβ, βNβ, βOβ, βPβ, βQβ, βRβ, βSβ, βTβ, βUβ, βVβ, βWβ, βXβ, βYβ, βZβ]
Initialize the list with alphabets using a naive method
The most general method that comes to our mind is using the brute force method of running a Python loop till 26 and incrementing it while appending the letters in the list. Refer to ASCII Table for more.
Python3
# initializing empty list test_list = [] # printing initial list print ( "Initial list : " + str (test_list)) # using naive method # for filling alphabets alpha = 'a' for i in range ( 0 , 26 ): test_list.append(alpha) alpha = chr ( ord (alpha) + 1 ) # printing resultant list print ( "List after insertion : " + str (test_list)) |
Output :
Initial list : []
List after insertion : [βaβ, βbβ, βcβ, βdβ, βeβ, βfβ, βgβ, βhβ, βiβ, βjβ, βkβ, βlβ, βmβ, βnβ, βoβ, βpβ, βqβ, βrβ, βsβ, βtβ, βuβ, βvβ, βwβ, βxβ, βyβ, βzβ]
Initialize the list with alphabets using list comprehension
This is a method similar to the above method, but rather a shorthand for the naive method as it uses the list comprehension technique to achieve the task.
Python3
# Python3 code to demonstrate # Filling alphabets # using list comprehension # initializing empty list test_list = [] # printing initial list print ( "Initial list : " + str (test_list)) # using list comprehension # for filling alphabets test_list = [ chr (x) for x in range ( ord ( 'a' ), ord ( 'z' ) + 1 )] # printing resultant list print ( "List after insertion : " + str (test_list)) |
Output :
Initial list : []
List after insertion : [βaβ, βbβ, βcβ, βdβ, βeβ, βfβ, βgβ, βhβ, βiβ, βjβ, βkβ, βlβ, βmβ, βnβ, βoβ, βpβ, βqβ, βrβ, βsβ, βtβ, βuβ, βvβ, βwβ, βxβ, βyβ, βzβ]
Initialize the list with alphabets using a map()
Using a map() is an elegant way to perform this particular task. It type casts the numbers in a range to a particular data type, char in this case, and assigns them to the list.
Python3
# initializing empty list test_list = [] # printing initial list print ( "Initial list : " + str (test_list)) # using map() # for filling alphabets test_list = list ( map ( chr , range ( 97 , 123 ))) # printing resultant list print ( "List after insertion : " + str (test_list)) |
Output :
Initial list : []
List after insertion : [βaβ, βbβ, βcβ, βdβ, βeβ, βfβ, βgβ, βhβ, βiβ, βjβ, βkβ, βlβ, βmβ, βnβ, βoβ, βpβ, βqβ, βrβ, βsβ, βtβ, βuβ, βvβ, βwβ, βxβ, βyβ, βzβ]
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