In this Python tutorial, you will learn how to initialize a list using list() built-in function or square bracket notation.

Python – Initialize List

To initialize a List in Python, we can use list() built-in function; or take the elements, separated by comma, enclosed in square brackets and assigned to a variable.

The syntax to initialize a Python List using list() function is

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myList = list([element_1, element_2, element_3, ...])

The syntax to initialize a Python List with elements directly assigned to a variable is

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myList = [element_1, element_2, element_3, ...]

Examples (2)

1. Initialize a list using list() function

In this example, we will initialize a list using list() builtin function. We shall print the type of the object returned by list() and print the object itself.

Python Program

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myList = list([5, 7, 3, 9])
print(type(myList))
print(myList)

Output

<class 'list'>
[5, 7, 3, 9]

type(myList) returned <class 'list'> meaning that the object returned by the list() function is a Python List.

2. Initialize a list directly with elements using square bracket notation

In this example, we will initialize a list with elements enclosed in square brackets to a variable.

Python Program

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myList = [5, 7, 3, 9]
print(type(myList))
print(myList)

Output

<class 'list'>
[5, 7, 3, 9]

Conclusion

In this Python Tutorial, we learned how to initialize a Python List with example programs.