List Comprehensions in Python

List comprehensions are a powerful and concise way to create new lists in Python. They combine loops and conditions into a single, readable line.

Instead of writing a multi-line for loop to build a list, you can often do it in one elegant expression. This makes code shorter, faster, and easier to understand.

List comprehensions are very common in Python code – once you learn them, you'll use them everywhere!

Basic List Comprehension

The syntax is: [expression for item in iterable]

Example: Create a list of squares.

With Condition – Filtering

Add if condition to include only certain items: [expression for item in iterable if condition]

Transforming with Expression

The expression at the beginning can be any calculation or function call.

Nested List Comprehensions

For multi-dimensional data, you can nest comprehensions.

When to Use List Comprehensions

Use them for simple transformations and filtering. For complex logic with multiple statements, regular loops are clearer.

Quick Quiz