Python - Create an Integer Array

Create an Integer Array in Python

In Python, you can create an integer array using array() method of array module.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a Python array with integer values in it, with examples.

To create an integer array in Python, import array module, call array() method of array module, and pass the type code for integer type as first argument and the list of elements for the initial values of array as second argument.

array(type_code, initial_values)

You can use any of the following type code to create an integer array.

Type Code	C data type	Python data type	Minimum number of bytes
'b'	signed char	int	1
'B'	unsigned char	int	1
'h'	signed short	int	2
'H'	unsigned short	int	2
'i'	signed int	int	2
'I'	unsigned int	int	2
'l'	signed long	int	4
'L'	unsigned long	int	4

Initial values (second argument) to the array() method is optional. If you do not pass any initial values, then an empty integer array would be created.

1. Create an integer array with initial values

In the following program, we create an integer array my_array using array() method. Pass 'i' type code as first argument to the array() method, and pass a list of initial values to the array as second argument to the array() method.

Python Program

import array as arr

my_array = arr.array('i', [100, 200, 300, 400])

print(my_array)

Output

array('i', [100, 200, 300, 400])

2. Create an empty integer array and add values

We can also create an empty integer array, and then append values to the array.

In the following program, we create an empty integer array my_array, and then add some integer elements to this array.

Python Program

import array as arr

my_array = arr.array('i')
my_array.append(100)
my_array.append(200)
my_array.append(300)
my_array.append(400)

print(my_array)

Output

array('i', [100, 200, 300, 400])

3. Iterate over Integer Array

We can use a For loop to iterate over the elements of given integer array.

In the following program, we take an integer array my_array, and then use a For loop to iterate over the integer elements in the array.

Python Program

import array as arr

my_array = arr.array('i', [100, 200, 300, 400])

for element in my_array:
    print(element)

Output

100
200
300
400

Summary

In this Python Array tutorial, we learned how to create an integer array in Python, using array() method of array module, with examples.