How to assign multiple values to a single variable in python


Many Values to Multiple Variables

Python allows you to assign values to multiple variables in one line:

Example

x, y, z = "Orange", "Banana", "Cherry"
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

Try it Yourself »

Note: Make sure the number of variables matches the number of values, or else you will get an error.


One Value to Multiple Variables

And you can assign the same value to multiple variables in one line:


Unpack a Collection

If you have a collection of values in a list, tuple etc. Python allows you to extract the values into variables. This is called unpacking.

Example

Unpack a list:

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
x, y, z = fruits
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

Try it Yourself »

Learn more about unpacking in our Unpack Tuples Chapter.



You could do this in multiple ways. Either store a dictionary like so

enemy1 = dict(name = "gargoyle",
              strength = 30,
              armour = 25,
              health = 50)

or a list (which is positional rather than name based)

enemy1 = ['gargoyle', 30, 25, 50]

I'd use a class like so though

class Enemy(object):
   def __init__(self, name, strength, armour, health):
      self.name = name
      # Rest of the attributes

This way, you can encapsulate "enemy functionality" into a single object and move it around. A lot easier than throwing around a dictionary. You can also add methods like attack, etc. to the class to make your enemy more lifelike and your code more readable.

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    A variable is a segment of memory with a unique name used to hold data that will later be processed. Although each programming language has a different mechanism for declaring variables, the name and the data that will be assigned to each variable are always the same. They are capable of storing values of data types.

    The assignment operator(=) assigns the value provided to its right to the variable name given to its left. Given is the basic syntax of variable declaration:

    Syntax: var_name = value

    Example:

    a = 4

     Assign Values to Multiple Variables in One Line

    Given above is the mechanism for assigning just variables in Python but it is possible to assign multiple variables at the same time. Python assigns values from right to left. When assigning multiple variables in a single line, different variable names are provided to the left of the assignment operator separated by a comma. The same goes for their respective values except they should be to the right of the assignment operator.

    While declaring variables in this fashion one must be careful with the order of the names and their corresponding value first variable name to the left of the assignment operator is assigned with the first value to its right and so on. 

    Example 1:

    Variable assignment in a single line can also be done for different data types.

    Python3

    a, b = 4, 8

    print("value assigned to a")

    print(a)

    print("value assigned to b")

    print(b)

    Output:

    value assigned to a
    4
    value assigned to b
    8

    Example 2:

    Not just simple variable assignment, assignment after performing some operation can also be done in the same way.

    Python3

    print("assigning values of different datatypes")

    a, b, c, d = 4, "geeks", 3.14, True

    print(a)

    print(b)

    print(c)

    print(d)

    Output:

    assigning values of different datatypes
    4
    geeks
    3.14
    True

    Example 3:

    Assigning different operation results to multiple variable.

    Python3

    a, b = 8, 3

    add, pro = (a+b), (a*b)

    print(add)

    print(pro)

    Output:

    11
    24

    Example 4:

    Here, we are storing different characters in a different variables.

    Python3

    string = "Geeks"

    a, b, c = string[0], string[1:4], string[4]

    print(a)

    print(b)

    print(c)

    Output:

    G
    eek
    s

    Can a variable have multiple values?

    A variable holds more than one value if you declare it to be of a composite data type. Composite Data Types include structures, arrays, and classes. A variable of a composite data type can hold a combination of elementary data types and other composite types. Structures and classes can hold code as well as data.

    How do you assign a range of values to a variable in Python?

    Steps to use range() function.
    Pass start and stop values to range() For example, range(0, 6) . Here, start=0 and stop = 6 . ... .
    Pass the step value to range() The step Specify the increment. ... .
    Use for loop to access each number. Use for loop to iterate and access a sequence of numbers returned by a range() ..

    How do I assign multiple values to a single variable in R?

    For instance, create a 1 row dataframe (say V ) and initialize your variables in it. Now you can assign to multiple variables at once V[,c("a", "b")] <- values[c(2, 4)] , call each one by name ( V$a ), or use many of them at the same time ( values[c(5, 6)] <- V[,c("a", "b")] ).

    Does Python allow you to assign a single value to several variables?

    Yes Python allows you to assign a single value to several variables simultaneously.