Python bytearray()

Python bytearray() function creates a mutable (changeable) sequence of bytes. It’s like a list, but specifically for storing bytes, numerical values between 0 and 255. This is useful when working with raw binary data or manipulating data at a low level.

bytearray() Syntax

my_bytearray = bytearray(source, encoding, errors)
  • my_bytearray: A variable to store the created bytearray object
  • bytearray(): The built-in Python function for creating bytearrays
  • source (optional): The initial data for the bytearray. Can be a string, an integer specifying the size, or an iterable of integers.
  • encoding (optional): If source is a string, specifies how to encode it into bytes.
  • errors (optional): If source is a string, specifies how to handle encoding errors.

Example 1: Python bytearray()

my_bytes = bytearray(5)  # Create an empty bytearray of size 5
print(my_bytes)

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: Creates a bytearray with 5 elements, all initialized to 0.
  • Line 2: Prints the bytearray, showing its raw byte values.

Output

bytearray(b’\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00′)


Example 2: Python bytearray() with String

text = "Hello, world!"
my_bytes = bytearray(text, 'utf-8')
print(my_bytes)

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: Assigns a string to the variable text.
  • Line 2: Creates a bytearray from the string, encoding it using UTF-8.
  • Line 3: Prints the bytearray, which now contains the byte representation of the string.

Output

bytearray(b’Hello, world!’)


Example 3: Python bytearray() with Integer Argument

size = 10
my_bytes = bytearray(size)
print(my_bytes)

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: Assigns the desired size (10) to the variable size.
  • Line 2: Creates a bytearray with the specified size, all elements initialized to 0.
  • Line 3: Prints the bytearray.

Output

bytearray(b’\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00′)


Example 4: Python bytearray() with List

my_list = [72, 101, 108, 108, 111]  # ASCII codes for "Hello"
my_bytes = bytearray(my_list)
print(my_bytes)

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: Creates a list containing the ASCII codes for the characters in “Hello”.
  • Line 2: Creates a bytearray from the list of integers.
  • Line 3: Prints the bytearray, which decodes back to the original string “Hello”.

Output

bytearray(b’Hello’)


Also Read

Python bool()

Python callable()