Python List Tail | Programming Tutorials

Introduction

In Python, a list is a collection of items that are ordered and changeable. Sometimes, we need to get all the elements of a list except for the first one. This can be done using the list tail method. In this challenge, you will be asked to implement a function that returns all elements in a list except for the first one.

Skills Graph

%%%%{init: {'theme':'neutral'}}%%%% flowchart RL python(("Python")) -.-> python/BasicConceptsGroup(["Basic Concepts"]) python(("Python")) -.-> python/ControlFlowGroup(["Control Flow"]) python(("Python")) -.-> python/DataStructuresGroup(["Data Structures"]) python(("Python")) -.-> python/FunctionsGroup(["Functions"]) python/BasicConceptsGroup -.-> python/comments("Comments") python/ControlFlowGroup -.-> python/conditional_statements("Conditional Statements") python/DataStructuresGroup -.-> python/lists("Lists") python/DataStructuresGroup -.-> python/tuples("Tuples") python/FunctionsGroup -.-> python/function_definition("Function Definition") python/FunctionsGroup -.-> python/build_in_functions("Build-in Functions") subgraph Lab Skills python/comments -.-> lab-13727{{"Extracting List Tail in Python"}} python/conditional_statements -.-> lab-13727{{"Extracting List Tail in Python"}} python/lists -.-> lab-13727{{"Extracting List Tail in Python"}} python/tuples -.-> lab-13727{{"Extracting List Tail in Python"}} python/function_definition -.-> lab-13727{{"Extracting List Tail in Python"}} python/build_in_functions -.-> lab-13727{{"Extracting List Tail in Python"}} end

List Tail

Write a function tail(lst) that takes a list as an argument and returns all elements in the list except for the first one. If the list contains only one element, return the whole list.

def tail(lst):
  return lst[1:] if len(lst) > 1 else lst

tail([1, 2, 3]) ## [2, 3]
tail([1]) ## [1]

Summary

In this challenge, you have learned how to implement a function that returns all elements in a list except for the first one. You have also learned how to handle the case where the list contains only one element. Keep practicing to improve your Python skills!