In mathematics, a tuple is a finite sequence of objects. Sometimes, the finite sequence is also called an ordered list. This means that the order of the objects matter. In a tuple, the objects are either enclosed within parentheses (such as \displaystyle{ (1, 2) }), or within angle brackets (such as \displaystyle{ \langle 1, 2 \rangle }). Each of the objects in the list has a certain type. A tuple consisting of n entries is called an n-tuple. Tuples are used to describe mathematical objects that are made of certain, well-defined components. They are also used very frequently with databases. Tuples are different from sets:

• A certain element can be in a tuple more than once.
• The order in which the elements appear in a tuple is important.