What is the difference between Python Arrays and lists?

[jhonrichards121]

Hi, What is the difference between Python Arrays and lists?

[rishabhps]

Normally one would think they are the same in Python, but they are not.

The major difference between the two is that List doesn’t need to be declared explicitly whereas Arrays does.

# this is a list
list = [3, 6, 9, 12]

# this is an array
# 'i' signifies that all elements in array are integers
array_nums = arr.array("i", [3, 6, 9, 12])

Also, in List, you can have different types of values in the same list. For example: [1, “String”, ‘c’]

But in Arrays, you need to have homogenous values. For example: [1, 2, 3], or [“String1”, “String2”], etc. If you try to add a heterogenous value inside an array in Python, you will get an error.