A tuple is like a list, but immutable — once created, it cannot be changed. You write it with parentheses instead of square brackets.

point = (3, 5)
print(point)
print(point[0])
print(len(point))

Indexing, slicing, len(), in, and looping all work exactly as they do on lists.

What you cannot do

point = (3, 5)
point[0] = 10

That raises TypeError: 'tuple' object does not support item assignment. There is no append, no remove, no sort — those methods simply do not exist on tuples.

Why would you want that?

Immutability sounds like a downside, but it is a feature:

• Safety. If a value should never change — a coordinate, an RGB colour, a date — a tuple makes accidental modification impossible instead of merely unlikely.
• Intent. Seeing a tuple tells the next reader "this is a fixed record, not a growing collection."
• Usable as dictionary keys. You'll see this in the next lesson: dictionary keys must be immutable, so a tuple can be a key and a list cannot.

Creating tuples

empty = ()
single = (42,)
several = (1, 2, 3)
no_parens = 1, 2, 3
print(type(single))
print(no_parens)

Watch the single-item case: (42) is just the number 42 in parentheses. The trailing comma in (42,) is what makes it a tuple.

Unpacking

This is where tuples really earn their place. You can assign every element to its own variable in one line:

point = (3, 5)
x, y = point
print(x)
print(y)

The number of variables must match the number of items. Unpacking also gives you the neatest swap in any language:

a = 1
b = 2
a, b = b, a
print(a, b)

Converting between the two

numbers = (3, 1, 2)
as_list = list(numbers)
as_list.sort()
print(tuple(as_list))

If you need to modify a tuple, convert it to a list, change it, and convert back — you get a new tuple, and the original is untouched.

Try it yourself

Unpack the tuple into x and y, then print their sum.

Checkpoint

• Tuples use (parens) and cannot be changed after creation.
• A one-item tuple needs a trailing comma: (42,).
• Unpacking assigns each element to its own variable, and enables a, b = b, a.
• Use a tuple for fixed records; use a list for collections that grow and change.