What are some examples of generic types in Python?

What are some examples of generic types in Python?

In Python, generic types allow you to define functions and classes that can operate on different data types. For example, you can use the List type from the typing module to create a list that can hold any type of elements.

Can you show me a code example using List?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

from typing import List

def print_elements(elements: List[T]) -> None:
    for element in elements:
        print(element)

This function takes a list of any type and prints each element.

What about using generics with classes?

You can create a generic class like this:

from typing import TypeVar, Generic

T = TypeVar('T')

class Box(Generic[T]):
    def __init__(self, item: T) -> None:
        self.item = item

    def get_item(self) -> T:
        return self.item

This Box class can hold any type of item.

Are there any built-in generic types in Python?

Yes, Python has several built-in generic types, such as List, Dict, Set, and Tuple from the typing module. These allow you to specify the types of elements they contain.