If you’re a fresh developer and interested in learning several approaches to divide all elements of list in Python by a constant or number, continue reading this article for comprehensive information and clear illustrations.
This article will guide you through dividing all list elements in Python. In this article, first of all, we’ll discuss what a list is in Python and how it works. Furthermore, we’ll discuss the four different methods to divide all elements of a list.
Finally, we will explore which method to use according to the scenario. Let’s dig deeper into the topic to find more detailed and deeper information.
Table of Contents
What is a List in Python?
In Python, lists are like dynamic arrays, which are used to store multiple items in a single variable. It is one of the built-in data types provided by Python. It is a sequence data type that stores the collection of data. We can create a list by enclosing elements in square brackets [] and separating elements by commas(,).
For example:
Code
mylist=[10, 20, 30, 50] # We can easily access its elements by using the index number print(mylist[1]) # We can print all elements of the list by just writing the list name print(mylist)
Output
20 [10, 20, 30, 50]
Some useful methods of the list are len(), append(), and insert(), which we use in solving the mystery of “dividing all elements of the list“. The Len() function tells us the length of our list. We can insert an element in a specific index with the help of insert(). The append() function is used to append an element at the end of the list.
One of the best features of the list is that assigning it to another list will not make a copy of the list. Instead, both variable points to the same list.
For example:
Code
mylist=[10, 20, 30, 50] print("Elements of mylist:", mylist) # Assign mylist to newlist newlist=mylist # Changing the element of newlist will change both lists # Means both list points to the same memory location newlist[1]=40 print("Elements of mylist after changing newlist:",mylist)
Output
Elements of mylist: [10, 20, 30, 50] Elements of mylist after changing newlist: [10, 40, 30, 50]
How to Divide all Elements of a List in Python
We have several ways to divide an integer with all list elements. Some of them are:
- Using Loop to create a new list
- Using Loop to modify the same list
- Using List comprehension
- Using lambda and map function
Method 1: Using Loop Create New List
We can create a new list and store each element of the existing list after dividing it with an integer with the help of a loop.
Code
mylist=[10, 20, 30, 50] print("Elements of mylist:", mylist) myint=10 newlist=[] for elements in mylist: newlist.append(elements/myint) print(newlist)
Output
Elements of mylist: [10, 20, 30, 50] [1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0]
We can also use a while loop to store all the divided elements in the new list.
Code
mylist=[10, 20, 30, 50] print("Elements of mylist:", mylist) myint=10 newlist=[] counter=0 while counter < len(mylist): newlist.append(mylist[counter]/myint) counter = counter + 1 print("After division:",newlist)
Method 2: Using Loop Modify Same List
Sometimes we have limited storage and have to change the same list, so in that case, we have to use the insert and remove method of the list, not use a new list and modify the same list.
Let’s understand this concept with the help of a simple example:
Code
mylist=[10, 20, 30, 50] print("Elements of mylist:", mylist) myint=10 counter=0 while counter < len(mylist): # insert a new element on the same list by dividing it with an integer mylist.insert(counter,mylist[counter]/myint) counter = counter + 1 # Remove divided element from our list mylist.remove(mylist[counter]) print("After division:",mylist)
Output
Elements of mylist: [10, 20, 30, 50] After division: [1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0]
Method 3: Using List Comprehension Method
Using the comprehension method is one of the simplest ways to divide all elements of the list and create a new list by just a single line. Now let’s understand this concept with the help of a simple example:
Code
mylist=[10, 20, 30, 50] print("Elements of mylist:", mylist) myint=10 # All elements to newlist after dividing it with myint newlist = [element/myint for element in mylist] print("After division:",newlist)
Output
Elements of mylist: [10, 20, 30, 50] After division: [1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0]
Method 4: Using Lambda and Map
We can use the anonymous lambda and map function to create a new list by dividing each element by an integer. Now let’s understand this concept with the help of a simple example:
Code
list1=[100, 200, 300, 500] print("Elements of list:", list1) no=10 # using lambda and map function list2 = list(map(lambda element: element/no, list1)) # assigning reference of list2 to list1 list1 = list2 print("After division:",list1)
Output
Elements of the list: [100, 200, 300, 500] After division: [10.0, 20.0, 30.0, 50.0]
Conclusion
After this debate, we come to the point where we can easily divide all elements of a list with the help of any of the above-mentioned methods. All these methods are used in different situations, e.g., If storage is not our problem, then we can create a new list by using a loop, list comprehension, or lambda function, but if storage matters, then we use a loop to modify the same list. List comprehension is the easiest method to use of all of these four methods.
Here is a quick recap of the topics discussed in the article:
- What is a list in Python, and how to divide all elements of list in Python?
- Divide all elements of a list by creating a new list with the help of a loop
- Divide all elements of a list by modifying the existing list with the help of a loop
- Divide all elements of a list by List comprehension
- Divide all elements of a list by using lambda and maps function
If you find this article helpful, do share it with your friends 🧑🤝🧑 and Let us know which method works best for you in the comments section below. Happy Coding!