Python: Lists vs. Tuples vs. Sets vs. Dictionaries

 lists, tuples, sets, and dictionaries in Python based on various characteristics:

Mutability:

Lists: Mutable. You can modify, add, or remove elements after creation.

Tuples: Immutable. Once created, elements cannot be changed.

Sets: Mutable. You can add or remove elements, but each element must be unique.

Dictionaries: Mutable. You can add, modify, or remove key-value pairs.

Ordering:

Lists: Ordered. Elements are stored in a specific order and can be accessed by index.

Tuples: Ordered. Similar to lists, elements have a specific order.

Sets: Unordered. Elements have no specific order, and you cannot access them by index.

Dictionaries: Prior to Python 3.7, dictionaries were unordered. From Python 3.7 onwards, dictionaries maintain insertion order.

Duplicates:

Lists: Can contain duplicate elements.

Tuples: Can contain duplicate elements.

Sets: Cannot contain duplicate elements.

Dictionaries: Keys must be unique.

Syntax:

Lists: Defined using square brackets [].

Tuples: Defined using parentheses ().

Sets: Defined using curly braces {}.

Dictionaries: Defined using curly braces {} with key-value pairs separated by colons.

Use Cases:

Lists: Use when you need a mutable, ordered collection with the possibility of duplicate elements.

Tuples: Use when you need an immutable, ordered collection. Suitable for situations where data should not be changed.

Sets: Use when you need an unordered collection of unique elements and order doesn't matter.

Dictionaries: Use when you need a mutable collection of key-value pairs, providing fast lookup based on keys.

Example:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]

my_tuple = (4, 5, 6)

my_set = {7, 8, 9}

my_dict = {'a': 10, 'b': 11, 'c': 12}