A tuple is an immutable ordered collection created by placing commas between values. Parentheses make the grouping explicit, and indexing retrieves its elements. section 22.1.1
Create, index, and unpack a tuple
>>> state = (1, 'X') >>> state[0] 1 >>> state[1] = 'O' TypeError: 'tuple' object does not support item assignment Tuples also support unpacking: `cell, player = state`. This makes a compact return value useful when a function produces several related values. section 22.1.1 section 14.3.4
Tuples appear naturally when:
- `zip()` pairs corresponding elements from sequences, producing tuples such as `('a', '1')`; it stops when the shortest input ends. section 19.1.2
- A CSV parser zips headers with field values, then converts the tuple pairs into a dictionary record. section 19.1.2
- Multiple counters can be initialized and assigned in one statement: `lines, words, bytes = 0, 0, 0`. section 6.3.2
Use a tuple when related values should travel together but must not be accidentally changed. A named tuple extends the same immutable behavior with named fields, combining tuple indexing with dictionary-like access such as `state.cell`. section 22.1.2 section 22.1.1
>>> pairs = list(zip(groomsmen, bridesmaids))
>>> pairs
[('G', 'B'), ('G', 'B'), ('G', 'B')]
>>> len(pairs)
3
See `zip()` produce a list of paired tuples from two sequences. section 19.1.2
