Comprehensions & generators
List/dict/set comprehensions, generator expressions, and lazy iteration.
Generate Data with Python Comprehensions and Generators
Shows list, dict compregensions and generator expressions plus a Fibonacci generator to produce data lazily.
# Data generation helpers using comprehensions and generators
from itertools import islice
def fibonacci(limit):
"""Generate Fibonacci numbers up to a limit."""
a, b = 0, 1
while a <= limit:
yield a
a, b = b, a + b
def main():
# List comprehension: squares of even numbers
square…How to Accumulate Values with a Generator in Python
This generator yields the running total of an iterable's elements, producing a cumulative sum with each step.
def accum(iterable):
total = 0
for item in iterable:
total += item
yield total
# Demo
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
print(list(accum(data))) # [1, 3, 6, 10, 15]
# Also works with any iterable, e.g., range
print(list(accum(range(1, 6)))) # [1, 3, 6, 10, 15]How to Build a Sliding Window Generator in Python
Create a generator that yields fixed-size overlapping slices of a sequence, useful for efficient windowed iteration.
def sliding_window(sequence, size):
for i in range(len(sequence) - size + 1):
yield sequence[i:i + size]
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
n = 3
for window in sliding_window(data, n):
print(window)How to Close a Generator and Handle GeneratorExit in Python
This Python code demonstrates how to explicitly close a generator using the close() method and handle the GeneratorExit exception through a finally block to run cleanup logic.
def countdown(n):
try:
while n > 0:
yield n
n -= 1
finally:
print(f"Generator closed after countdown completed")
if __name__ == "__main__":
gen = countdown(5)
print(next(gen))
print(next(gen))
gen.close()
print("Generator closed explicitly")How to Compress a Generator with a Boolean Mask in Python
Filters items from a generator based on a parallel boolean mask, yielding only the items where the mask is True.
def compress(generator, mask):
for item, keep in zip(generator, mask):
if keep:
yield item
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
mask = [True, False, True, False, True]
result = list(compress(iter(data), mask))
print(result)How to Create a Line-Numbered Generator with enumerate start in Python
This Python code defines a generator that yields lines prefixed with their index, using enumerate's start parameter to offset numbering.
def line_numbered_lines(lines, start=1):
for idx, line in enumerate(lines, start):
yield f"{idx:3} {line}"
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = ["first line", "second", "third"]
for numbered in line_numbered_lines(sample, start=10):
print(numbered)How to Create a Pairwise Generator with zip and tee in Python
Build a memory-efficient generator that yields successive overlapping pairs from any iterable using zip and tee.
from itertools import tee
def pairwise(iterable):
"""Yield successive overlapping pairs from iterable."""
a, b = tee(iterable)
next(b, None)
return zip(a, b)
if __name__ == "__main__":
values = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
print(list(pairwise(values)))
print(list(pairwise("hello")))How to Create an Infinite Arithmetic Sequence Generator in Python
Build a memory-efficient generator that yields an infinite arithmetic progression and extract the first N values with list comprehension.
"""Count generator infinite arithmetic progression"""
def arithmetic_counter(start=0, step=1):
"""Generate an infinite arithmetic sequence."""
current = start
while True:
yield current
current += step
if __name__ == "__main__":
counter = arithmetic_counter(1, 3)
result = [next(c…How to Delegate Iteration to a Subgenerator with yield from in Python
Use yield from to delegate iteration from one generator to a subgenerator, flattening nested generator output into a single sequence.
def subgenerator():
yield "first"
yield "second"
yield "third"
def delegate():
yield "before delegation"
yield from subgenerator()
yield "after delegation"
if __name__ == "__main__":
for item in delegate():
print(item)How to Filter Data with Predicates in Python
This helper filters a list with a predicate using a list comprehension, plus a lazy generator version that yields matches one by one.
def filter_data(data, predicate):
"""Return a list containing only items that pass the predicate."""
return [item for item in data if predicate(item)]
def filter_data_lazy(data, predicate):
"""Generator version: yields items that pass the predicate one by one."""
for item in data:
if predicat…How to Generate Cartesian Product Combinations in Python
Use itertools.product to generate every combination across multiple iterables, a pattern common for product variant generation.
from itertools import product
def generate_cartesian_combinations(*iterables):
"""Generate all Cartesian product combinations of given iterables."""
return list(product(*iterables))
if __name__ == "__main__":
colors = ["red", "green", "blue"]
sizes = ["S", "M", "L"]
styles = ["t-shirt", "hoodie"]…How to Generate Combinations with Replacement in Python
Generate all r-length combinations with repetition from a list using the standard library itertools.combinations_with_replacement function.
from itertools import combinations_with_replacement
items = ['A', 'B', 'C']
r = 2
combos = list(combinations_with_replacement(items, r))
for combo in combos:
print(combo)
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(f"Total combinations with replacement: {len(combos)}")How to Generate Fibonacci Numbers in Python Without Recursion
Build an efficient infinite Fibonacci sequence using a generator function with O(1) memory and no recursion overhead.
def fib(n):
a, b = 0, 1
for _ in range(n):
yield a
a, b = b, a + b
if __name__ == "__main__":
count = 10
result = list(fib(count))
print(result)How to Generate Permutations of Length r in Python
Generate all ordered arrangements of length r from a given list of elements using itertools.permutations.
from itertools import permutations
def generate_permutations(elements, r):
"""Generate all r-length permutations of the given elements."""
return list(permutations(elements, r))
if __name__ == "__main__":
elements = ['A', 'B', 'C']
r = 2
result = generate_permutations(elements, r)
print(f"Ele…How to Generate a Collatz Sequence in Python
Generate the Collatz sequence for a given positive integer by repeatedly applying the 3n+1 rule until reaching 1.
def collatz_sequence(n):
if n <= 0:
raise ValueError("n must be a positive integer")
sequence = [n]
while n != 1:
if n % 2 == 0:
n = n // 2
else:
n = 3 * n + 1
sequence.append(n)
return sequence
if __name__ == "__main__":
start = 7
result…How to Group Data in Python with defaultdict and Comprehensions
Group a list of items by a computed key using a defaultdict-based generator helper and an alternative dictionary comprehension approach.
from collections import defaultdict
def group_by(data, key_func):
"""Group items in data by the value returned by key_func."""
result = defaultdict(list)
for item in data:
result[key_func(item)].append(item)
return dict(result)
def group_by_comprehension(data, key_func):
"""Same grouping …How to Implement takewhile Generator in Python
A generator that yields items from an iterable until a condition fails, like itertools.takewhile.
def takewhile(predicate, iterable):
for item in iterable:
if not predicate(item):
break
yield item
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3]
result = list(takewhile(lambda x: x < 4, numbers))
print(result)How to Implement the Iterator Protocol in Python
A manual iterator class using __iter__ and __next__, compared with an equivalent generator using yield.
class ManualCounter:
def __init__(self, limit):
self.limit = limit
self.current = 0
def __iter__(self):
return self
def __next__(self):
if self.current >= self.limit:
raise StopIteration
value = self.current
self.current += 1
return valu…How to Lazily Transform Items in Python with a Generator
Map a transform function over an iterable lazily with a generator so items are processed on demand, not up front.
def lazy_map(items, transform):
for item in items:
yield transform(item)
def double(x):
return x * 2
def upper(s):
return s.upper()
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
doubled = lazy_map(numbers, double)
print("Doubled numbers:", end=" ")
for value in doubled:
…How to Merge Multiple Iterables with a Generator in Python
This code defines a generator function that 'chains' or merges multiple iterables into a single iterator, which is then converted to a list.
def chain(*iterables):
for iterable in iterables:
yield from iterable
def main():
list1 = [1, 2, 3]
tuple1 = (4, 5)
set1 = {6, 7}
string1 = "89"
result = list(chain(list1, tuple1, set1, string1))
print(result)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()How to Parse CSV Rows as Generator Dicts in Python
Reads a CSV file and yields each row as a dictionary one at a time using a generator, so the file is processed lazily.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
def csv_to_dicts(filepath):
with open(filepath, mode="r", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as file:
reader = csv.DictReader(file)
for row in reader:
yield row
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample_csv = Path("sample_data.csv")
sample_csv.write_text…How to Parse Data with Generators and Comprehensions in Python
This code demonstrates using a generator expression to filter active users and a dictionary comprehension to aggregate scores by name.
def parse_data_helper(raw_records):
"""Extract active users' names and scores from raw records."""
parsed = (
(record["name"], record["score"])
for record in raw_records
if record["active"] and record["score"] >= 0
)
return list(parsed)
def aggregate_scores(parsed_data):
"…How to Repeat a Generator Cycle Single Value in Python
Build a generator that repeats a single value across multiple cycles, each cycle adding an extra repetition to mark its completion.
def repeat_with_cycle(value, cycle_limit, repetitions):
"""
Repeats a single value until reaching a cycle limit,
then yields the value one more time to demonstrate a full cycle.
Args:
value: The single value to repeat.
cycle_limit: Number of repetitions per cycle.
repetitio…How to Reset Python's Random Seed for Deterministic Output
This code shows how to seed Python's random module to generate identical random sequences across runs, ensuring reproducibility.
import random
def seeded_random_sequence(seed, count=5, low=1, high=100):
random.seed(seed)
return [random.randint(low, high) for _ in range(count)]
if __name__ == "__main__":
seed_value = 42
first_run = seeded_random_sequence(seed_value)
print("First run:", first_run)
# Reset seed and gener…Browse by section
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Comprehensions & generators — Python code examples
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