Tuples and unpacking

A tuple is an ordered group whose elements cannot be replaced in place. Parentheses often make a tuple easy to recognise. Use a tuple when the group should stay fixed, such as a width and height pair.

size = (8, 5)
width, height = size
print(width)
print(height)
print(size[0])

8
5
8

One-item tuples

A one-item tuple needs a trailing comma. Without the comma, parentheses only group an expression.

one_item = ("Python",)
print(type(one_item))
print(len(one_item))

<class 'tuple'>
1

Why this works

A tuple groups values in a fixed position order. Unpacking assigns each position to a separate name, so the number of names must match the number of values. Tuple immutability means you cannot reassign one of its elements, though a tuple can still contain a mutable object.

Practice

Create a tuple containing a course title and a lesson count. Unpack both values and print them.

Try another case

What happens when x, y = (3, 4) runs?