Why Do I Get an IndexError When Assigning Values to an Empty Python List?

Assignment Errors in List Manipulation: Index Out of Range Conundrum

When attempting to create a list by assigning values to each element individually, you may encounter an IndexError. This occurs because, unlike arrays in other languages, Python lists don't have pre-assigned indices or memory allocation.

In the given code:

i = [1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13]
j = []
k = 0

for l in i:
    j[k] = l
    k += 1

The issue is that the empty list j has no elements initially. Assigning a value to j[k] in the first iteration requires j to have at least one element, but that's not the case here. Hence, the IndexError.

To append elements to a list without encountering this error, use the append() method:

for l in i:
    j.append(l)

For direct assignment like arrays, you can pre-create a list with None values and then overwrite them:

j = [None] * len(i)
k = 0

for l in i:
    j[k] = l
    k += 1

Remember, Python lists expand dynamically as elements are added, eliminating the need for explicit memory allocation.

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