Algorithms & data structures
Classic patterns — search, sort, stacks, queues, and practical complexity-aware code.
Drop Elements From Start While Condition Is True in Python
This generator function drops elements from the beginning of an iterable while a predicate returns true, then yields the rest.
def drop_while(predicate, iterable):
"""Drop elements from the start while predicate is true."""
it = iter(iterable)
for item in it:
if not predicate(item):
yield item
break
yield from it
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 5]
result = list(d…Filter List to Keep Only Whitelist Values in Python
Filter a list of values to keep only those present in a predefined whitelist set using a list comprehension.
def filter_whitelist(values, whitelist):
"""Return only values that are present in the whitelist set."""
return [value for value in values if value in whitelist]
if __name__ == "__main__":
raw_values = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date", "apple", "elderberry"]
allowed = {"apple", "banana", "date"}
…Find Elements in One Python List but Not Another
Return a new list containing only the elements from list A that are not present in list B, preserving duplicates and order.
def difference_elements(a, b):
"""Return elements present in list a but not in list b."""
set_b = set(b)
return [item for item in a if item not in set_b]
if __name__ == "__main__":
a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 3, 2]
b = [2, 4, 6]
result = difference_elements(a, b)
print(f"A: {a}")
print(f"B: {b…How to Combine filter and map with a List Comprehension in Python
This Python code demonstrates how to combine filtering and mapping in a single list comprehension and shows the equivalent filter() and map() approach.
def square(x):
return x * x
def is_even(x):
return x % 2 == 0
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
result = [square(x) for x in numbers if is_even(x)]
print(f"Original numbers: {numbers}")
print(f"Squares of even numbers: {result}")
# Combined filter + map equivalent
filtered = filter(is_even, numbers)
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Algorithms & data structures — Python code examples
What you will find here
This page collects algorithms & data structures snippets — short, copy-ready Python you can paste into our free online IDE and run without installing anything. Each sample includes a plain-English explanation and the full source code.
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