Convert a list of lists to two lists in Python

Convert a list of lists to two lists in Python #

To convert a list of lists to two lists:

1. Use the zip() function with the * operator to unzip the list.
2. Use the map() function to convert the tuples in the zip object to lists.
3. Use the list() class to convert the map object to a list.

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list_of_lists = [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]]

result = list(map(list, zip(*list_of_lists)))

# 👇️ [[1, 3, 5], [2, 4, 6]]
print(result)

first, second = result

print(first)  # 👉️ [1, 3, 5]
print(second)  # 👉️ [2, 4, 6]

The first step is to use the zip() function with the * (iterable unpacking) operator to unzip the list.

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list_of_lists = [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]]

result = list(zip(*list_of_lists))

# 👇️ [(1, 3, 5), (2, 4, 6)]
print(result)

The zip function iterates over several iterables in parallel and produces tuples with an item from each iterable.

The zip function returns an iterator of tuples.

We used the map() function to convert the tuples in the iterator to lists.

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list_of_lists = [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]]

result = list(map(list, zip(*list_of_lists)))

# 👇️ [[1, 3, 5], [2, 4, 6]]
print(result)

first, second = result

print(first)  # 👉️ [1, 3, 5]
print(second)  # 👉️ [2, 4, 6]

The map() function takes a function and an iterable as arguments and calls the function with each item of the iterable.

We simply passed each tuple in the iterator object to the list() class.

The last step is to pass the map object to the list() class.

You can optionally unpack the list values into variables.

An alternative to consider is using multiple list comprehensions.

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list_of_lists = [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]]


a = [l[0] for l in list_of_lists]
print(a)  # 👉️ [1, 3, 5]

b = [l[1] for l in list_of_lists]
print(b)  # 👉️ [2, 4, 6]

On each iteration, we access the current nested list object at a specific index and get a list containing the results.

Alternatively, you can use a list comprehension for the conversion.

To convert a list of lists to two lists:

1. Use the zip() function with the * operator to unzip the list.
2. Use a list comprehension to iterate over the zip object.
3. Use the list() class to convert each tuple to a list.

Copied!
list_of_lists = [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]]


result = [list(tup) for tup in zip(*list_of_lists)]

print(result)  # 👉️ [[1, 3, 5], [2, 4, 6]]

first, second = result

print(first)  # 👉️ [1, 3, 5]
print(second)  # 👉️ [2, 4, 6]

We used a list comprehension instead of using the map() function.

On each iteration, we pass the current tuple to the list() class to convert it to a list.

Which approach you pick is a matter of personal preference. I'd go with the list comprehension as I find it more direct and easier to read.