Python Programming with the Java™ Class Libraries: A Tutorial for Building Web and Enterprise Applications with Jython

Python Collection Types

One thing that sets Python apart from most other languages is its built-in collection types. As in the real world, in programming a collection represents more than one item. By “built-in” I mean that Python uses a special syntax for its collections, which it calls sequences. Strings are also considered sequences in Python, so all of the rules that apply to strings also apply to collections—slice notation, indexes, and so forth.

For Programmers: Hashtables, Vectors, and Collection Objects If you use Java, you probably use hashtables and vectors in about 85 percent of the programs you write. Hashtables are similar to Python dictionaries, and vectors are similar to Python lists. The key difference is that Python's lists, ...