What is IndexError and how to solve it ?

Introduction

In this blog, we will discuss What is IndexError and how to solve it? An IndexError in Python is typically caused by trying to access a list element that does not exist. For example, if you have a list of length 10 and try to access an element with index 100, this will cause an IndexError. There are a few ways to fix this error. One way is to make sure you are accessing a valid list index. Another way is to use exception handling to catch the IndexError and gracefully handle it. In general, it is best to avoid getting this error in the first place. Python lists are zero-indexed, which means the first element has index 0, the second element has index 1, and so on. So if you are trying to access the 10th element of a list, you should use index 9.

Example

my_list = [1, 2, 3]

print(my_list[3])

When you try to access mylist[3], you’re actually trying to access the fourth element, which doesn’t exist. To avoid this error, you need to make sure that you’re only trying to access elements that exist in the list.

How to solve IndexError

One way to do this is to use the len() function to check the length of the list before trying to access an element. For example, if you have a list called mylist with three elements, you can use the following code to safely access the third element.

if len(mylist) > 2:
  third_element = mylist[2]
else:
  print("you'll get an IndexError.")

When the index supplied as the subscript does not fall within the range of indices of boundaries of a list. The system raises an exception known as an IndexError in Python. A try-catch block can be used to handle this run-time exception.

n=int(input())
try:
    list = [5,6,7,1,2]
    print(str(list[n]))
except IndexError as e:
    print(e)

The output is :

Also, read – what is Attribute error and how to solve it?