Taking multiple inputs from user in Python

While taking a single input from a user is straightforward using the input() function, many real world scenarios require the user to provide multiple pieces of data at once. This article will explore various ways to take multiple inputs from the user in Python.

Using input() and split()

One of the simplest ways to take multiple inputs from a user in Python is by using the input() function along with the split() method. The split() method splits a string into a list based on a specified separator (by default, it uses whitespace).

Example:

# taking two inputs at a time
x, y, z = input("Values: ").split()
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

Output: 

values: 5 6 7
5
6
7

How it Works:

• input() takes the full input as a single string.
• .split() divides the string into separate components based on whitespace by default.
• The values are assigned to individual variables (x, y, z).

Let's take a look at other cases of taking multiple inputs from user in python:

Using List Comprehension (Multiple Inputs in One Line)

If we want to ask the user for multiple values on a single line, we can use list comprehension combined with the input() function and split() to break the input into individual components. Also we can take inputs separated by custom delimiter which is comma in the below example.

Example: 

# Asking for multiple space-separated values
inputs = [i for i in input().split()]
print(inputs)
# taking multiple inputs at a time separated by comma
x = [int(x) for x in input().split(",")]
print(x) 

Output :

5 6 7 8
['5', '6', '7', '8']

Explanation:

• The input() function is used to take the user's input as a string.
• The split() method splits the string based on whitespace (by default) into a list of strings.
• The list comprehension [item for item in input().split()] takes each element in the split input and stores it in the list inputs.

Note: You can replace comma with any delimiter if you want to take inputs separated by space.

Using map() for Multiple Integer Inputs

If you need to collect multiple inputs in a single line and convert them into integers (or another data type), the map() function is useful. The map() function applies a specified function to each item in an iterable.

Example:

# Take space-separated inputs and convert them to integers
a = map(int, input().split())
# Convert the map object to a list and print it
b = list(a)
print(b)

Output:

5 6 7 8 9
[5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Explanation:

• We use input() to take a single line of input.
• The split() method divides the string into a list of substrings.
• map(int, ...) converts each element in the list to an integer.
• Finally, we convert the result back into a list to display the values.

Taking Multiple Inputs in a Loop

If you want to collect multiple inputs from the user one at a time, you can use a loop. This is particularly useful when you need to collect an arbitrary number of inputs or perform validation on each input.

# Create an empty list to store the inputs
a = []
# Ask the user for how many items they want to input
b = int(input("How many items do you want to enter? "))
# Loop to collect multiple inputs
for i in range(b):
    val = input(f"Enter item {i + 1}: ")
    a.append(val)
for i in a:
    print(i)

Explanation:

• We first ask how many items the user wants to input.
• We then use a loop to take inputs one by one, appending each input to a list.
• After the loop finishes, we print the collected items.
• This approach gives the user the flexibility to enter as many items as needed.