Python - Loop Lists
Loop Through a List
You can loop through the list items by using a for
loop:
Example
Print all items in the list, one by one:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for x in thislist:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about for loops in our Python For Loops Chapter.
Loop Through the Index Numbers
You can also loop through the list items by referring to their index number.
Use the range() and
len() functions to create a suitable iterable.
Example
Print all items by referring to their index number:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for i
in range(len(thislist)):
print(thislist[i])
Try it Yourself »
The iterable created in the example above is [0, 1, 2].
Using a While Loop
You can loop through the list items by using a while loop.
Use the len() function to determine the length of the list,
then start at 0 and loop your way through the list items by refering to their indexes.
Remember to increase the index by 1 after each iteration.
Example
Print all items, using a while loop to go
through all the index numbers
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
i = 0
while i < len(thislist):
print(thislist[i])
i = i + 1
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about while loops in our
Python While Loops Chapter.
Looping Using List Comprehension
List Comprehension offers the shortest syntax for looping through lists:
Example
A short hand for loop that will print all items in a list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[print(x) for x in thislist]
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about list comprehension in the next chapter: List Comprehension.
