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Python - Convert a list into tuple of lists
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Python – Convert a String Representation of a List into a List

Last Updated : 10 Dec, 2024
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Sometimes we may have a string that looks like a list but is just text. We might want to convert that string into a real list in Python. The easiest way to convert a string that looks like a list into a list is by using the json module. This function will evaluate the string written as JSON list as a Python list. If the string is in JSON format (which looks like a Python list), we can use json.loads().

Python 
import json    # Use json.loads() to parse  #the string and convert it into a Python list s = '["Geeks", "for", "Geeks"]'   a = json.loads(s)   print(a)

Output
['Geeks', 'for', 'Geeks']

Let’s explore other methods that convert a string representation of List into List:

Table of Content

  • Using eval()
  • Using map()
  • Manual Method (Looping through the String)
  • Using ast.literal_eval()

Using eval()

eval() is a built-in function that evaluates the data type from the string and changes the string to that data type.

Python 
s = '["Geeks", "for", "Geeks"]'   # Use eval() to evaluate the string #convert it into a Python list a = eval(s)   print(a)

Output
['Geeks', 'for', 'Geeks']

Using map()

The map() function applies a given function to each item in an iterable. We can use map() to convert a string into a list, especially if we need to apply a transformation (e.g., stripping spaces or changing case).

Python 
s = '["Geeks", "for", "Geeks"]'    # Use split() to separate the string  #map str.strip to remove any leading spaces a = list(map(str.strip, s.split(',')))   a = list(map(str.strip, s.split(',')))   print(a)

Output
['["Geeks"', '"for"', '"Geeks"]']

Manual Method (Looping through the String)

If we want full control over how the string is converted, we can manually loop through the string and build the list item by item.

Python 
s = 'Geeks, for, Geeks'  a = [] #Loop through each item in the split string  for item in s.split(','):     a.append(item.strip()) print(a)

Output
['Geeks', 'for', 'Geeks']

Using ast.literal_eval()

For safety, ast.literal_eval() is a better option than eval() as it only allows Python literals like lists, strings, numbers, etc. This makes it safer to use with untrusted inputs.

Python 
import ast    s = '["Geeks", "for", "Geeks"]'  # Use ast.literal_eval() to safely evaluate #the string as a Python literal a = ast.literal_eval(s)   print(a)

Output
['Geeks', 'for', 'Geeks']


Next Article
Python - Convert a list into tuple of lists
author
garg_ak0109
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Article Tags :
  • Python
  • Python Programs
  • Python list-programs
  • python-list
Practice Tags :
  • python
  • python-list

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