Lists & loops
Iterate, transform, and combine sequences with readable loop patterns.
How to Check if a List is Sorted in Descending Order in Python
This code defines a function that returns True if a given list is sorted in descending order, using a generator expression with all() to compare each adjacent pair.
def is_descending(lst):
"""Return True if list is sorted in descending order."""
return all(lst[i] >= lst[i + 1] for i in range(len(lst) - 1))
if __name__ == "__main__":
test_cases = [
[5, 4, 3, 2, 1],
[3, 3, 2, 1],
[1, 2, 3],
[10, 8, 9],
[]
]
for case in …How to Interleave Two Lists in Python Until One List Exhausted
Interleave elements from two lists pairwise using zip, stopping when either list runs out of items.
def interleave(a, b):
result = []
for x, y in zip(a, b):
result.extend([x, y])
return result
if __name__ == "__main__":
list1 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
list2 = ["a", "b", "c"]
print(interleave(list1, list2))How to Merge Two Sorted Lists in Python
Merge two sorted lists into one sorted list using a two-pointer loop, then extend with remaining elements.
def merge_sorted_lists(list1, list2):
merged = []
i = j = 0
while i < len(list1) and j < len(list2):
if list1[i] <= list2[j]:
merged.append(list1[i])
i += 1
else:
merged.append(list2[j])
j += 1
merged.extend(list1[i:])
merged…How to Safely Convert a List of Strings to Integers in Python
Convert a list of strings to integers while skipping invalid entries and collecting the failed values for inspection.
def safe_to_int(values):
"""Safely convert a list of strings to integers, skipping invalid entries."""
result = []
errors = []
for value in values:
try:
result.append(int(value))
except (ValueError, TypeError):
errors.append(value)
return result, errors
if …How to Truncate a List to Max Length in Python (Keep Head)
This code returns a new list containing only the first max_length items from the original list, using Python's slice syntax.
from typing import List
def truncate_head(lst: List[object], max_length: int) -> List[object]:
"""Return a new list with at most max_length items from the head."""
if max_length < 0:
raise ValueError("max_length must be non-negative")
return lst[:max_length]
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Examp…How to Validate Text Against Forbidden Words in Python
Checks whether a given text contains any forbidden words and returns a tuple with validity and offending words.
def validate_text(text, forbidden_words):
"""
Checks that text does not contain any forbidden words.
Returns (is_valid, offending_words) tuple.
"""
words = text.lower().split()
found = [word for word in words if word in forbidden_words]
return len(found) == 0, found
if __name__ == "__main…How to Zip Two Lists into Pairs in Python
Combine two lists element-wise into a list of tuples using Python's built-in zip() function.
def zip_lists_into_pairs(list1, list2):
pairs = list(zip(list1, list2))
return pairs
if __name__ == "__main__":
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
quantities = [3, 5, 2]
result = zip_lists_into_pairs(fruits, quantities)
print(result)How to unzip a list of pairs into two lists in Python
Split a list of (a, b) tuples into two separate lists by iterating with a for loop and appending each element to its own output list.
def unzip(pairs):
"""Split a list of (a, b) pairs into two separate lists."""
if not pairs:
return [], []
firsts = []
seconds = []
for a, b in pairs:
firsts.append(a)
seconds.append(b)
return firsts, seconds
if __name__ == "__main__":
pairs = [(1, 'a'), (…Pairwise Adjacent Differences in a Python List
Computes the absolute differences between each pair of adjacent elements in a list using a concise list comprehension.
def adjacent_differences(nums):
"""Return list of absolute differences between adjacent elements."""
return [abs(nums[i] - nums[i + 1]) for i in range(len(nums) - 1)]
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = [3, 7, 2, 9, 5]
diffs = adjacent_differences(sample)
print("Original list:", sample)
print…Separate Evens and Odds into Two Lists in Python
Split a list of numbers into two lists containing even and odd numbers using a simple loop and the modulo operator.
def separate_evens_odds(numbers):
evens = []
odds = []
for num in numbers:
if num % 2 == 0:
evens.append(num)
else:
odds.append(num)
return evens, odds
if __name__ == "__main__":
nums = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
evens, odds = separate_evens_odds(nu…Truncate List Keeping Last N Elements in Python
Return a new list containing only the last N elements from a sequence, handling edge cases like zero or oversized counts.
def truncate(seq, keep_last_n):
"""Return a new list keeping only the last n elements."""
if keep_last_n <= 0:
return []
return list(seq)[-keep_last_n:]
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60]
print(truncate(data, 3))
print(truncate(data, 0))
print(truncate(data…Browse by section
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Lists & loops — Python code examples
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