Comprehensions & generators
List/dict/set comprehensions, generator expressions, and lazy iteration.
Batch Rows in Chunks with a Generator in Python
Group a list of row dicts into fixed-size chunks using a generator that yields one slice per call.
from typing import Iterator, List
def batch_rows(rows: List[dict], batch_size: int) -> Iterator[List[dict]]:
for i in range(0, len(rows), batch_size):
yield rows[i:i + batch_size]
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample_rows = [
{"id": 1, "name": "Alice"},
{"id": 2, "name": "Bob"},
…Build a lazy generator to read file lines in Python
Create a generator function that yields file lines one at a time, avoiding loading the entire file into memory, and demonstrate its lazy processing.
def lazy_lines(filepath):
"""Yield lines from a file one at a time without loading the whole file into memory."""
with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as file:
for line in file:
yield line.rstrip('\n')
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Create a sample file to demonstrate
sample_c…Chunk an Iterable into Batches with a Generator in Python
Yield fixed-size batches from any iterable lazily using itertools.islice inside a generator function.
from itertools import islice
def chunked(iterable, size):
iterator = iter(iterable)
while True:
batch = list(islice(iterator, size))
if not batch:
break
yield batch
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = range(10)
for batch in chunked(data, 3):
print(batch)Convert Data in Python with Comprehensions and Generators
Convert mixed data to integers, filter and transform numbers, and extract fields from dicts using list comprehensions and generator expressions.
def convert_numbers(data):
"""Convert a list of mixed values into integers using a comprehension."""
return [int(item) for item in data if item is not None]
def double_even_numbers(numbers):
"""Double only even numbers using a generator expression."""
return (n * 2 for n in numbers if n % 2 == 0)
d…Count Data in Python with Comprehensions and Generators
Count list items with a dict comprehension and generate squares lazily with a generator expression, printing both results.
from collections import Counter
data = ["apple", "banana", "apple", "cherry", "banana", "apple"]
counts = {item: data.count(item) for item in set(data)}
square_gen = (x * x for x in range(5))
squares = list(square_gen)
if __name__ == "__main__":
print("Manual count:", counts)
print("Counter:", dict(Counter…Flatten a Nested List in Python (Recursive Generator)
Recursively flatten arbitrarily nested lists into a single-level list using both a function and a generator with `yield from`.
def flatten(nested_list):
"""Recursively flatten a nested list into a single-level list."""
result = []
for item in nested_list:
if isinstance(item, list):
result.extend(flatten(item))
else:
result.append(item)
return result
def flatten_generator(nested_list):
…Generator Function to Yield an Infinite Counter in Python
This code demonstrates a generator function that yields an infinite sequence of integers starting from a given value, allowing lazy, memory-efficient iteration.
def infinite_counter(start=0):
count = start
while True:
yield count
count += 1
if __name__ == "__main__":
counter = infinite_counter(5)
for _ in range(5):
print(next(counter))Group Consecutive Keys in Python with itertools.groupby
Group consecutive equal elements in a list using the itertools.groupby generator, printing each key and its values.
from itertools import groupby
data = [1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1, 4, 4, 4]
for key, group in groupby(data):
group_list = list(group)
print(f"Key: {key}, Values: {group_list}")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 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 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 Send Values into a Python Generator Coroutine
Use the .send() method to pass values into a running generator coroutine and capture them.
def coroutine():
received = []
while True:
value = yield
received.append(value)
print(f"Coroutine received: {value}")
if value == "stop":
break
return received
if __name__ == "__main__":
gen = coroutine()
next(gen) # Prime the generator
gen.send("he…How to Slice a Generator with islice in Python
Use itertools.islice to take the first n items from any iterable without materializing the whole sequence into a list.
from itertools import islice
def first_n(iterable, n):
"""Return the first n items from an iterable."""
return list(islice(iterable, n))
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = range(10, 100) # large iterable
result = first_n(numbers, 5)
print(result) # [10, 11, 12, 13, 14]How to Split Data into Chunks and Use Generators in Python
Split a list into fixed-size chunks with a list comprehension and square even numbers lazily with a generator expression.
def split_numbers(data, chunk_size):
return [data[i:i + chunk_size] for i in range(0, len(data), chunk_size)]
def square_even_numbers(numbers):
return (n ** 2 for n in numbers if n % 2 == 0)
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample_data = list(range(1, 21))
chunks = split_numbers(sample_data, 5)
print…How to Throw an Exception into a Python Generator
This code demonstrates how to use the .throw() method on a generator to inject an exception at its current yield point and let it recover gracefully.
def demo_throw_into_generator():
"""Demonstrate throwing an exception into a running generator."""
def counter():
"""Generator that counts until interrupted."""
try:
i = 0
while True:
yield i
i += 1
except ValueError as e:
…How to Use List Comprehensions and Generators to Format Data in Python
A beginner-friendly helper that formats dictionaries into strings using a list comprehension and generates squared numbers lazily with a generator.
def format_data(items):
"""Format a list of dictionaries into readable strings."""
formatted = [
f"{item.get('name', 'Unknown')}: {item.get('value', 0)} units"
for item in items
if item.get('value', 0) > 0
]
return formatted if formatted else ["No positive values found"]
def g…How to Use List Comprehensions and Generators to Transform Data in Python
Transform a list of integers by squaring even numbers with a list comprehension and cubing odd numbers with a generator.
def transform_data(data):
"""
Transform a list of integers:
- squares of even numbers using a list comprehension
- cubes of odd numbers using a generator
"""
squares = [num ** 2 for num in data if num % 2 == 0]
cubes = (num ** 3 for num in data if num % 2 != 0)
return squares, cubes
i…How to stream parse JSON arrays in Python
This code demonstrates two generators: one that streams a JSON array as individual chunks, and another that incrementally parses those chunks into Python objects using json.JSONDecoder.
import json
def json_array_stream(items):
"""Generator that yields JSON-encoded values one at a time."""
yield "["
for i, item in enumerate(items):
if i > 0:
yield ","
yield json.dumps(item)
yield "]"
def parse_json_stream(stream):
"""Consumes a stream of JSON fragme…Memory efficient map over large file in Python
A generator-based streaming map that processes a large file line by line without loading the whole file into memory.
import sys
def process_lines(file_path):
"""Memory-efficient map over a large file: yields processed lines."""
with open(file_path, 'r') as f:
for line in f:
# Example mapping: strip whitespace and uppercase
yield line.strip().upper()
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Use a sma…Merge Sorted Iterators with a Heap Generator in Python
Merge multiple sorted iterators into a single sorted stream using a heap and generator, yielding values lazily in order.
import heapq
def merge_sorted_iterators(*iterators):
heap = []
for idx, iterator in enumerate(iterators):
try:
value = next(iterator)
heapq.heappush(heap, (value, idx, iterator))
except StopIteration:
continue
while heap:
value, idx, iterator = …Set Comprehension for Unique Word Lengths in Python
Use a set comprehension to extract unique word lengths from a string, then sort and print the result.
text = "hello world hello python programming"
word_lengths = {len(word) for word in text.split()}
print("Unique word lengths:", word_lengths)
print("Sorted:", sorted(word_lengths))Sum of Squares with a Generator Expression in Python
This code computes the sum of squares of integers from 1 to n using a generator expression, demonstrating a memory-efficient and concise way to aggregate a sequence.
def sum_of_squares(n):
return sum(x * x for x in range(1, n + 1))
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(f"Sum of squares from 1 to 5: {sum_of_squares(5)}")
print(f"Sum of squares from 1 to 10: {sum_of_squares(10)}")Browse by section
Each section groups closely related Python snippets.
Comprehensions & generators — Python code examples
What you will find here
This page collects comprehensions & generators 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.
Samples vs tutorials and challenges
Samples are quick reference — one concept per page. For step-by-step teaching, use our Python tutorials. To test yourself, try quizzes or coding challenges. Clean up style with the Python formatter.