When does the IndexError: list assignment index out of range appear?
Python throws an IndexError if you try to assign a value to a list index that doesn’t exist, yet. For example, if you execute the expression list[1] = 10 on an empty list, Python throws the IndexError. Simply resolve it by adding elements to your list until the index actually exists.
Here’s the minimal example that throws the IndexError:
lst = []
lst[1] = 10
If you run this code, you’ll see that Python throws an IndexError:
Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Users\xcent\Desktop\code.py", line 2, in <module> lst[1] = 10
IndexError: list assignment index out of range
You can resolve it by adding two “dummy” elements to the list so that the index 1 actually exists in the list:
lst = [None, None]
lst[1] = 10
print(lst)
Now, Python will print the expected output:
[None, 10]
Try to fix the IndexError in the following interactive code shell:
Exercise: Can you fix this code?
So what are some other occurrences of the IndexError?
IndexError in For Loop
Frequently, the IndexError happens if you use a for loop to modify some list elements like here:
# WRONG CODE:
lst = []
for i in range(10): lst[i] = i
print(lst)
Again, the result is an IndexError:
Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Users\xcent\Desktop\code.py", line 4, in <module> lst[i] = i
IndexError: list assignment index out of range
You modify a list element at index i that doesn’t exist in the list. Instead, create the list using the list(range(10)) list constructor.
# CORRECT CODE:
lst = list(range(10))
print(lst)
# [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Where to Go From Here?
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https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/2020/04/...-of-range/