What are the performance differences between lists and tuples in Python?

What are the performance differences between lists and tuples in Python?

Lists are mutable, meaning they can be changed after creation, while tuples are immutable. This immutability makes tuples generally faster than lists for certain operations.

Can you explain why tuples are faster?

Tuples are faster because they have a smaller memory footprint and their immutability allows for optimizations in memory allocation and access.

Are there any scenarios where I should prefer lists over tuples?

Yes, if you need to modify the data, such as adding or removing elements, lists are the better choice due to their mutability.

What about memory usage? How do they compare?

Tuples generally use less memory than lists because they store data in a more compact form, which can be beneficial in memory-constrained environments.