How to do Simultaneous Assignment in Python
See Python: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.A very cool feature of Python is that it allows for simultaneous assignment. The syntax is as follows:
var_name1, var_name2 = value1, value2
This can be useful as a shortcut for assigning several values at once, like this:
smart_1, cute_1, funny_1, quiet_1 = "John","Paul","Ringo","George"
But simultaneous assignment is really useful in a scenario like the one shown below.
- First, let's look at a method that does not work:
a=5 b=10 a=b b=a print("ATTEMPT 1. The Wrong Way.") print(a) print(b)
- Next, let's look at a method that works, but is not Pythonic:
a=5 b=10 temp=a a=b b=temp print("ATTEMPT 2. A Non-Pythonic Way that Works.") print(a) print(b)
- Finally, let's see the Pythonic way, which is to use simultaneous assignement:
a=5 b=10 a,b = b,a print("ATTEMPT 3. The Python Way.") print(a) print(b)
The output should look like this:
The code demonstrates that simultaneous assignment really is simultaneous. The value for a
does not change before the value of b
, so b
gets the original value of a
, and we can switch the values without using an interim step of creating a temporary (and otherwise useless) variable.
Related Articles
- Fixing WebVTT Times with Python
- Using Python to Convert Images to WEBP
- Scientific Notation in Python
- Understanding Python’s __main__ variable
- Converting Leading Tabs to Spaces with Python
- pow(x, y, z) more efficient than x**y % z and other options
- A Python Model for Ping Pong Matches
- Bulk Convert Python files to IPython Notebook Files (py to ipynb conversion)
- Python’s date.strftime() slower than str(), split, unpack, and concatenate?
- Basic Python Programming Exercise: A Penny Doubled Every Day
- Bi-directional Dictionary in Python
- How to find all your Python installations on Windows (and Mac)
- Associate Python Files with IDLE
- Change Default autosave Interval in JupyterLab
- Python: isdigit() vs. isdecimal()
- Python Clocks Explained
- Python Color Constants Module
- Maximum recursion depth exceeded while calling a Python object
- When to use Static Methods in Python? Never
- Finally, a use case for finally – Python Exception Handling
- Creating an Email Decorator with Python and AWS
- Python Coding Challenge: Two People with the Same Birthday
- How to Create a Simple Simulation in Python – Numeric Data
- Collatz Conjecture in Python
- Simple Python Script for Extracting Text from an SRT File
- Python Virtual Environments with venv
- Mapping python to Python 3 on Your Mac
- How to Make IDLE the Default Editor for Python Files on Windows
- How to Do Ternary Operator Assignment in Python
- How to Convert Seconds to Years with Python
- How to Create a Python Package
- How to Read a File with Python
- How to Check the Operating System with Python
- How to Use enumerate() to Print a Numbered List in Python
- How to Repeatedly Append to a String in Python
- Checking your Sitemap for Broken Links with Python
- How to do Simultaneous Assignment in Python (this article)
- Visual Studio Code - Opening Files with Python open()
- How to Slice Strings in Python
- How Python Finds Imported Modules
- How to Merge Dictionaries in Python
- How to Index Strings in Python
- How to Create a Tuple in Python