How can I create an empty variable based on another data type in Python?

Question

How can I create empty variable that has the same data type of another variable?

   data = get_data()
   new_variable = data.data_type()  #just create empty variable

In the above case, if data is a list then new_variable will be list()

Note that this doesn't generally make sense in Python; variables don't have types, they just refer to values. Values have types. So what you're asking for is to get an empty value of the same type as another value. Not all types have a concept of an "empty" value. However container types do, and Ignacio's answer should work for most of them, as they generally also have zero-argument constructors that produce an empty container. — Ben
– Ben, Commented Nov 13, 2011 at 2:58

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-12 22:16:10Z

5

Get the class of the value, invoke the constructor with no arguments, and hope that it doesn't blow up.

data.__class__()

answered Nov 12, 2011 at 22:16

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Or, alternatively, type(data)().