when there are more than one items in the list, should i say "a list of item" or "a list of items"

Question

a list in python looks like

list_of_int = [1, 2, 3]

there are 3 items in this list.

the question is, when there are more than one items in the list, should i say "a list of item" or "a list of items"

Answer 1

You might be confused by the way coders talk about lists in code, which is a little different from the syntax of every day English.

In many coding languages, as in your example, you say 'a list of int', or 'a list of some object'. However, in English you would say

A list of integers

or

A list of objects of type something.

Answer 2

A list is a set of things, usually written or said in a particular order. In programming, a list can have zero or more items. But in general usage, a list usually consists of multiple items. Thus, when we refer to a list of something, we would pluralize it. Ex: a list of books, a list of names, etc.

"a list of items" is the standard way of saying it.