87. Python’s itertools Module

The itertools module in Python provides a set of fast, memory-efficient tools for performing iteration and combinatorics, such as working with permutations, combinations, and infinite sequences. Below are 10 Python code snippets demonstrating how to use various functions from the itertools module for efficient iteration and combinatorics:

1. Counting with itertools.count

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import itertools

# Create an infinite counter starting from 0
counter = itertools.count(start=0, step=2)

# Print the first 5 numbers from the counter
for i in itertools.islice(counter, 5):
    print(i)

itertools.count creates an infinite iterator that generates numbers starting from start and increasing by step. In this case, it starts from 0 and increments by 2.

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2. Generating Permutations with itertools.permutations

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import itertools

# Generate all permutations of a list of 3 items
items = ['A', 'B', 'C']
permutations = itertools.permutations(items)

# Print the permutations
for perm in permutations:
    print(perm)

itertools.permutations returns all possible permutations of the input iterable. It takes an optional second argument to limit the length of each permutation.

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3. Generating Combinations with itertools.combinations

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import itertools

# Generate all combinations of 2 items from a list
items = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']
combinations = itertools.combinations(items, 2)

# Print the combinations
for combo in combinations:
    print(combo)

itertools.combinations returns all possible combinations of the specified length from the input iterable.

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4. Cartesian Product with itertools.product

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import itertools

# Generate the Cartesian product of two lists
list1 = [1, 2]
list2 = ['A', 'B']
product = itertools.product(list1, list2)

# Print the Cartesian product
for item in product:
    print(item)

itertools.product computes the Cartesian product of input iterables, which is similar to a nested for-loop.

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5. Infinite Cycling with itertools.cycle

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import itertools

# Create an infinite cycle over a list of 3 elements
cycler = itertools.cycle(['A', 'B', 'C'])

# Print the first 6 elements of the cycle
for i, item in enumerate(cycler):
    if i == 6:
        break
    print(item)

itertools.cycle creates an infinite iterator that cycles through the elements of the iterable.

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6. Repeating Elements with itertools.repeat

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import itertools

# Repeat an element 5 times
repeater = itertools.repeat('Hello', 5)

# Print the repeated elements
for item in repeater:
    print(item)

itertools.repeat returns an iterator that repeats the given element indefinitely (or a specified number of times).

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7. Chaining Iterables with itertools.chain

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import itertools

# Chain together multiple iterables
list1 = [1, 2]
list2 = ['A', 'B']
list3 = [True, False]

# Chain the iterables and print the result
chained = itertools.chain(list1, list2, list3)
for item in chained:
    print(item)

itertools.chain combines multiple iterables into one continuous sequence.

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8. Filtering Iterables with itertools.compress

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import itertools

# Compress a list using a selector list (True/False)
data = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E']
selectors = [1, 0, 1, 0, 1]  # Keep 'A', 'C', and 'E'

# Use compress to filter data based on selectors
filtered = itertools.compress(data, selectors)
for item in filtered:
    print(item)

itertools.compress filters elements from the first iterable based on a selector iterable (True/False values).

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9. Grouping Elements with itertools.groupby

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import itertools

# Group consecutive elements that have the same value
data = [1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4]

# Group the elements
grouped = itertools.groupby(data)

# Print the grouped elements
for key, group in grouped:
    print(key, list(group))

itertools.groupby groups consecutive occurrences of the same value. The result is a key-value pair of the group key and the grouped elements.

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10. Taking a Slice of an Iterable with itertools.islice

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import itertools

# Take a slice from an iterable (take first 3 elements)
data = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E']
sliced = itertools.islice(data, 3)

# Print the sliced elements
for item in sliced:
    print(item)

itertools.islice allows you to take a slice of an iterable, similar to slicing lists, but works with any iterable.

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