Question

What is the difference between Python Arrays and lists?

Answer 1

• Arrays in python can only contain elements of same data types i.e., data type of array should be homogeneous. It is a thin wrapper around C language arrays and consumes far less memory than lists.
• Lists in python can contain elements of different data types i.e., data type of lists can be heterogeneous. It has the disadvantage of consuming large memory.

import array

a = array.array('i', [1, 2, 3])

for i in a:
     print(i, end=' ')    #OUTPUT: 1 2 3

a = array.array('i', [1, 2, 'string'])    #OUTPUT: TypeError: an integer is required (got type str)

a = [1, 2, 'string']

for i in a:
    print(i, end=' ')    #OUTPUT: 1 2 string