How to Fix TypeError: 'map' Object Is Not Subscriptable in Python

1. Cause of the TypeError: 'map' object is not subscriptable Error in Python
2. Fix the TypeError: 'map' object is not subscriptable Error in Python

Every programming language encounters many errors. Some occur at the compile time, some at run time.

This article will discuss the TypeError: 'map' object is not subscriptable, a sub-class of TypeError. We encounter a TypeError when we try to perform an operation incompatible with the type of object.

Cause of the TypeError: 'map' object is not subscriptable Error in Python

Python 2 Map Operations in Python 3

In Python 2, the map() method returns a list. We can access the list’s elements using their index through the subscriptor operator [].

In Python 3, the map() method returns an object which is an iterator and cannot be subscripted. If we try to access the item using the subscript operator [], the TypeError: 'map' object is not subscriptable will be raised.

Example Code:

# Python 3.x
my_list = ["1", "2", "3", "4"]
my_list = map(int, my_list)
print(type(my_list))
my_list[0]

Output:

#Python 3.x
<class 'map'>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TypeError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-1-07511913e32f> in <module>()
      2 my_list = map(int, my_list)
      3 print(type(my_list))
----> 4 my_list[0]

TypeError: 'map' object is not subscriptable

Fix the TypeError: 'map' object is not subscriptable Error in Python

Convert the Map Object to List in Python 3

If we convert the map object to a list using the list() method, we can use the subscript operator/list methods.

Example Code:

# Python 3.x
my_list = ["1", "2", "3", "4"]
my_list = list(map(int, my_list))
print(my_list[0])

Output:

#Python 3.x
1

Use the for Loop With Iterator in Python 3

We can access the items in the iterator using a for loop. It calls the __next__() method at the back and prints all the values.

Example Code:

# Python 3.x
my_list = ["1", "2", "3", "4"]
my_list = list(map(int, my_list))
for i in my_list:
    print(i)

Output:

#Python 3.x
1
2
3
4