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Multiple Assignment

Many Values to Multiple Variables

We can assign multiple values to multiple variables in one line. This is called multiple assignment.

Example:

variable.py
# Multiple assignment
a, b, c = 10, 20.5, "Hello, World!"
print(a, b, c)
variable.py
# Multiple assignment
a, b, c = 10, 20.5, "Hello, World!"
print(a, b, c)

Output

command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 20.5 Hello, World!
command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 20.5 Hello, World!

One Value to Multiple Variables

We can assign one value to multiple variables in one line. This is called one value to multiple variables.

Example:

variable.py
# One value to multiple variables
a = b = c = 10
print(a, b, c)
variable.py
# One value to multiple variables
a = b = c = 10
print(a, b, c)

Output

command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 10 10
command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 10 10

Multiple Values to One Variable

We can assign multiple values to one variable in one line. This is called multiple values to one variable.

Example:

variable.py
# Multiple values to one variable
a = 10, 20, 30
print(a)
variable.py
# Multiple values to one variable
a = 10, 20, 30
print(a)

Output

command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
(10, 20, 30)
command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
(10, 20, 30)

In this case, the variable aa is a tuple.

Unpacking a Tuple

We can unpack a tuple in multiple variables. This is called unpacking a tuple.

Example:

variable.py
# Unpacking a tuple
a = 10, 20, 30
x, y, z = a
print(x, y, z)
variable.py
# Unpacking a tuple
a = 10, 20, 30
x, y, z = a
print(x, y, z)

Output

command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 20 30
command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 20 30

Unpacking a List

We can unpack a list in multiple variables. This is called unpacking a list.

Example:

variable.py
# Unpacking a list
a = [10, 20, 30]
x, y, z = a
print(x, y, z)
variable.py
# Unpacking a list
a = [10, 20, 30]
x, y, z = a
print(x, y, z)

Output

command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 20 30
command
C:\Users\Your Name> python variable.py
10 20 30

Extended Unpacking with **

When you do not know (or do not care) how many items are in the middle, a starred variable ** captures the rest as a list. This is called extended unpacking.

star_unpack.py
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
 
first, *rest = numbers
print(first, rest)        # 1 [2, 3, 4, 5]
 
first, *middle, last = numbers
print(first, middle, last)  # 1 [2, 3, 4] 5
star_unpack.py
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
 
first, *rest = numbers
print(first, rest)        # 1 [2, 3, 4, 5]
 
first, *middle, last = numbers
print(first, middle, last)  # 1 [2, 3, 4] 5

Swapping Variables

Multiple assignment gives Python an elegant one-line swap — no temporary variable needed. The right-hand side is built into a tuple first, then unpacked.

swap.py
a, b = 5, 10
a, b = b, a
print(a, b)   # 10 5
swap.py
a, b = 5, 10
a, b = b, a
print(a, b)   # 10 5

Try it: Multiple Assignment Exercises

Exercise 1 – Assign Same Value to Multiple Variables

Exercise 2 – Tuple Unpacking

Exercise 3 – Assign from a List

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