Initializing Lists with Values in Python

Introduction

In Python, a list is a collection of items that are ordered and changeable. Sometimes, we need to initialize a list with a specific value or set of values. In this challenge, you will create a function that initializes and fills a list with the specified value.

Skills Graph

%%%%{init: {'theme':'neutral'}}%%%% flowchart RL python(("Python")) -.-> python/DataStructuresGroup(["Data Structures"]) python(("Python")) -.-> python/FunctionsGroup(["Functions"]) python(("Python")) -.-> python/BasicConceptsGroup(["Basic Concepts"]) python(("Python")) -.-> python/ControlFlowGroup(["Control Flow"]) python/BasicConceptsGroup -.-> python/comments("Comments") python/ControlFlowGroup -.-> python/for_loops("For Loops") python/ControlFlowGroup -.-> python/list_comprehensions("List Comprehensions") python/DataStructuresGroup -.-> python/lists("Lists") python/DataStructuresGroup -.-> python/tuples("Tuples") python/FunctionsGroup -.-> python/function_definition("Function Definition") python/FunctionsGroup -.-> python/default_arguments("Default Arguments") python/FunctionsGroup -.-> python/build_in_functions("Build-in Functions") subgraph Lab Skills python/comments -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} python/for_loops -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} python/list_comprehensions -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} python/lists -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} python/tuples -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} python/function_definition -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} python/default_arguments -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} python/build_in_functions -.-> lab-13662{{"Initialize List with Values"}} end

Initialize List with Values

Write a function initialize_list_with_values(n, val=0) that takes in two parameters:

n (integer) representing the length of the list to be created.
val (integer) representing the value to be used to fill the list. If val is not provided, the default value of 0 should be used.

The function should return a list of length n filled with the specified value.

def initialize_list_with_values(n, val = 0):
  return [val for x in range(n)]

initialize_list_with_values(5, 2) ## [2, 2, 2, 2, 2]

Summary

In this challenge, you learned how to initialize and fill a list with a specified value using a list comprehension and the range() function. You also learned how to set a default value for a function parameter.