Python sum Usage Detailed Explanation and Examples

Python sum Syntax

Python’s sum() function calculates the sum of a sequence. It accepts an iterable object (such as a list, tuple, set, or string) as an argument and returns the sum of all elements in the iterable.

The syntax is as follows:

sum(iterable, start=0)

• iterable: Required, represents the iterable object to be summed.
• start: Optional, represents the starting value. When passed, the starting value is added to the sum of the iterable object.

Examples

Below are three examples using the sum() function:

Example 1: Calculating the sum of the elements in a list

numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
total = sum(numbers)
print(total) # Output is 150

In the above code, a list numbers is first defined, then the sum() function is used to calculate the sum of all elements in the list. Finally, the sum is printed.

Example 2: Calculating the Sum of Elements in a Tuple

marks = (85, 90, 95, 80)
total = sum(marks)
print(total) # Output: 350

In the above code, a tuple marks is defined, and the sum() function is used to calculate the sum of all elements in the tuple and print the result.

Example 3: Calculate the sum of numeric characters in a string

string = "Python123"
digits = [int(x) for x in string if x.isdigit()]
total = sum(digits)
print(total) # Output is 6

In the above code, a string string is first defined. The list derivation digits = [int(x) for x in string if x.isdigit()] is used to filter out the numeric characters and convert them to integers. The sum() function is then used to calculate the sum of the numeric characters and print the result.