Getting the last element of a list

0 votes
In Python, how do you get the last element of a list?
Dec 3, 2020 in Python by anonymous
• 10,520 points
315 views

1 answer to this question.

0 votes

some_list[-1] is the shortest and most Pythonic.

In fact, you can do much more with this syntax. The some_list[-n] syntax gets the nth-to-last element. So some_list[-1] gets the last element, some_list[-2] gets the second to last, etc, all the way down to some_list[-len(some_list)], which gives you the first element.

You can also set list elements in this way. For instance:

>>> some_list = [1, 2, 3]
>>> some_list[-1] = 5 # Set the last element
>>> some_list[-2] = 3 # Set the second to last element
>>> some_list
[1, 3, 5]

Note that getting a list item by index will raise an IndexError if the expected item doesn't exist. This means that some_list[-1] will raise an exception if some_list is empty because an empty list can't have the last element.

answered Dec 3, 2020 by anonymous
• 65,910 points

Related Questions In Python

+2 votes
2 answers

In a list of dictionaries, how can I find the minimum calue in a common dictionary field.

There are several options. Here is a ...READ MORE

answered Apr 10, 2018 in Python by charlie_brown
• 7,720 points
1,054 views
0 votes
1 answer

Return a list inside a for loop while iterating over the elements of another list

The print() is getting called multiple times ...READ MORE

answered Sep 22, 2018 in Python by SDeb
• 13,300 points
4,641 views
0 votes
2 answers

How can I get the count of a list in Python?

n=[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] print(len(n)) =9 READ MORE

answered Dec 10, 2020 in Python by anonymous
1,165 views
0 votes
1 answer

What is the recommended way to randomize a list of strings using Python?

Hi. Nice question. Here is the simplified answer ...READ MORE

answered Jan 18, 2019 in Python by Nymeria
• 3,560 points
597 views
0 votes
2 answers
+1 vote
2 answers

how can i count the items in a list?

Syntax :            list. count(value) Code: colors = ['red', 'green', ...READ MORE

answered Jul 7, 2019 in Python by Neha
• 330 points

edited Jul 8, 2019 by Kalgi 4,007 views
0 votes
1 answer
+1 vote
8 answers

Count the frequency of an item in a python list

To count the number of appearances: from collections ...READ MORE

answered Oct 18, 2018 in Python by tinitales
35,158 views
webinar REGISTER FOR FREE WEBINAR X
REGISTER NOW
webinar_success Thank you for registering Join Edureka Meetup community for 100+ Free Webinars each month JOIN MEETUP GROUP