Python Advanced List Functions Cheat Sheet-1 with Examples

Python Advanced List Functions Cheat Sheet-1 with Examples




1. map() Function

The map() function applies a given function to all items in an iterable (like list) and returns a map object (which can be converted to a list).

Example: Square all numbers


numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
squared = list(map(lambda x: x ** 2, numbers))
print(squared)

Output:


[1, 4, 9, 16]

✅ Also works with functions:


def double(x):
    return x * 2

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
result = list(map(double, numbers))
print(result)

Output:


[2, 4, 6]

2. filter() Function

The filter() function filters elements from an iterable for which a function returns True.

Example: Keep only even numbers


numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
evens = list(filter(lambda x: x % 2 == 0, numbers))
print(evens)

Output:


[2, 4, 6]

✅ Also works with functions:


def is_positive(n):
    return n > 0

nums = [-3, -2, 0, 4, 5]
pos = list(filter(is_positive, nums))
print(pos)

Output:


[4, 5]

3. reduce() Function

The reduce() function (from functools) reduces a list to a single value by applying a function cumulatively to the items.


from functools import reduce

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4]
result = reduce(lambda x, y: x + y, numbers)
print(result)

Output:


10

✅ Another Example: Multiply all elements


from functools import reduce

nums = [2, 3, 4]
product = reduce(lambda x, y: x * y, nums)
print(product)

Output:


24

⚠️ Note:

reduce() is not built-in; import from functools.


4. any() Function

The any() function returns True if at least one element in the iterable is True.

Example 1: With booleans


values = [False, False, True]
print(any(values))

Output:


True

Example 2: With numbers


nums = [0, 0, 5]
print(any(nums))

Output:


True

⚠️ Note:

0, None, and False are treated as False values.


5. all() Function

The all() function returns True only if all elements in the iterable are True.

Example 1: With booleans


values = [True, True, True]
print(all(values))

Output:


True

Example 2: One False in list


values = [True, False, True]
print(all(values))

Output:


False

✅ Point:

Useful in validations and conditions where all checks must pass.


6. zip() Function

The zip() function combines two or more iterables element-wise into tuples.

Example 1: Combine two lists


names = ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"]
scores = [85, 90, 88]
zipped = list(zip(names, scores))
print(zipped)

Output:


[('Alice', 85), ('Bob', 90), ('Charlie', 88)]

⚠️ Note:

If iterables are of different lengths, zip() stops at the shortest one.


a = [1, 2, 3]
b = ['a', 'b']
print(list(zip(a, b)))

Output:


[(1, 'a'), (2, 'b')]

7. enumerate() Function

The enumerate() function adds a counter to an iterable and returns it as an enumerate object (tuple of index and value).

Example: Enumerate a list


fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'mango']
for index, value in enumerate(fruits):
    print(index, value)

Output:


0 apple
1 banana
2 mango

✅ You can also set a custom starting index:


for i, val in enumerate(fruits, start=1):
    print(i, val)

Output:


1 apple
2 banana
3 mango

8. set() Function

The set() function creates a collection of unique elements (no duplicates).

Example: Remove duplicates from a list


numbers = [1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4]
unique = set(numbers)
print(unique)

Output:


{1, 2, 3, 4}

✅ Note:

set() is unordered and cannot have duplicate values.


9. sorted() Function

The sorted() function returns a new sorted list from the items in an iterable (original list remains unchanged).

Example: Sort numbers


nums = [5, 2, 9, 1]
result = sorted(nums)
print(result)

Output:


[1, 2, 5, 9]

✅ Sort in descending order:


print(sorted(nums, reverse=True))

Output:


[9, 5, 2, 1]

✅ Sort strings by length:


words = ['banana', 'apple', 'kiwi']
print(sorted(words, key=len))

Output:


['kiwi', 'apple', 'banana']

10. reversed() Function

The reversed() function returns a reversed iterator of a sequence.

Example: Reverse a list


nums = [1, 2, 3, 4]
rev = list(reversed(nums))
print(rev)

Output:


[4, 3, 2, 1]

✅ Also works on strings:


text = "hello"
rev_text = ''.join(reversed(text))
print(rev_text)

Output:


olleh

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