Create dynamic Python list with N elements

Question

Is there a dynamic way (without resorting to a loop or using the fixed []) of creating a Python list with N elements?

The elements can be anything e.g. strings, numbers, characters, etc. For example if N = 6, how can I dynamically create a list that has 6 string elements "abc"?

["abc", "abc", "abc", "abc", "abc","abc"]

This should be dynamic for different values of N and the list elements.

`['abc' for _ in range(6)]`? – jonrsharpe Oct 14 '14 at 13:44 — jonrsharpe, Oct 14 '14 at 13:44

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 14 '14 at 13:44

3

The pythonic way to do this is:

["abc"]*6

As jonsharpe commented, if you elements are mutable, this will create elements with the same reference. To create a new object in each case, you could do

[[] for _ in range(6)]

answered Oct 14 '14 at 13:44

simonzack

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Well done for finding enough characters to make a legal answer – mdurant Oct 14 '14 at 13:45
This will cause an issue if the value is mutable – jonrsharpe Oct 14 '14 at 13:45
In OPs case it is not, so I think it is cleaner. – simonzack Oct 14 '14 at 13:46
Yes, but they specifically state *"The elements can be anything"* (although their examples are all immutable, it's worth at least *mentioning* the possible gotcha). – jonrsharpe Oct 14 '14 at 13:46
@jonrsharpe Indeed. I've updated my answer. – simonzack Oct 14 '14 at 13:48

Create dynamic Python list with N elements

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