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Preferred way to retrieve the length of an array in Python

Finding length of an array: Here, we are going to learn about the preferred way to retrieve the length of an array in Python. By Sapna Deraje Radhakrishna Last updated : January 14, 2024

Retrieving the length of an array

The __len__() is a method on container types. However, Python also provides another option of retrieving the length of an array, using the method len().

The len(abc) usually ends up calling abc.__len__().

Retrieve the length of an array using __len__()

# array declaration
test_arr = [1,2,3]

# length
print(len(test_arr))
print(test_arr.__len__())

Output

3
3

Retrieve the length of an array using len()

The len() method works on a tuple, string (which are array of characters) in similar way.

test_tuple = (1,2,3)

# length
print(len(test_tuple))

# string 
test_str = 'include-help'

# length
print(len(test_str))

Output

3
12