3.4. Idiom Zip¶
Combine two sequences
Generator (lazy evaluated)
Built-in
3.4.1. Syntax¶
zip(*iterables)required
*iterables- 1 or many sequences or iterator object
3.4.2. Problem¶
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = []
>>> length = min(len(firstnames), len(lastnames))
>>> i = 0
>>>
>>> while i < length:
... pair = (firstnames[i], lastnames[i])
... result.append(pair)
... i += 1
>>>
>>> result
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis'), ('Alex', 'Vogel')]
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = []
>>>
>>> for i in range(min(len(firstnames), len(lastnames))):
... pair = (firstnames[i], lastnames[i])
... result.append(pair)
>>>
>>> result
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis'), ('Alex', 'Vogel')]
3.4.3. Solution¶
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = zip(firstnames, lastnames)
>>>
>>> list(result)
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis'), ('Alex', 'Vogel')]
3.4.4. Lazy Evaluation¶
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = zip(firstnames, lastnames)
>>>
>>> next(result)
('Mark', 'Watney')
>>> next(result)
('Melissa', 'Lewis')
>>> next(result)
('Alex', 'Vogel')
>>> next(result)
Traceback (most recent call last):
StopIteration
3.4.5. Generate Dict¶
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = zip(firstnames, lastnames)
>>>
>>> dict(result)
{'Mark': 'Watney', 'Melissa': 'Lewis', 'Alex': 'Vogel'}
>>> roles = ['botanist', 'commander', 'chemist']
>>> names = ['Mark Watney', 'Melissa Lewis', 'Alex Vogel']
>>>
>>> dict(zip(roles, names))
{'botanist': 'Mark Watney',
'commander': 'Melissa Lewis',
'chemist': 'Alex Vogel'}
3.4.6. Adjusts to the Shortest¶
zip()adjusts to the shortest
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = zip(firstnames, lastnames)
>>>
>>> list(result)
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis')]
3.4.7. Adjust to the Longest¶
itertools.zip_longest(iter1 [,iter2 [...]], [fillvalue=None]) --> zip_longest object
>>> from itertools import zip_longest
>>>
>>>
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>>
>>> list(zip_longest(firstnames, lastnames))
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis'), (None, 'Vogel')]
>>> list(zip_longest(firstnames, lastnames, fillvalue=''))
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis'), ('', 'Vogel')]
3.4.8. Three-way merge¶
>>> roles = ['botanist', 'commander', 'chemist']
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = zip(roles, firstnames, lastnames)
>>>
>>> next(result)
('botanist', 'Mark', 'Watney')
>>> next(result)
('commander', 'Melissa', 'Lewis')
>>> next(result)
('chemist', 'Alex', 'Vogel')
>>> next(result)
Traceback (most recent call last):
StopIteration
3.4.9. In For Loop¶
>>> roles = ['botanist', 'commander', 'chemist']
>>> names = ['Mark Watney', 'Melissa Lewis', 'Alex Vogel']
>>>
>>> for role, name in zip(roles, names):
... print(f'{role} -> {name}')
botanist -> Mark Watney
commander -> Melissa Lewis
chemist -> Alex Vogel
3.4.10. Unzip¶
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>>
>>> list(zip(firstnames, lastnames))
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis'), ('Alex', 'Vogel')]
>>>
>>> fname, lname = zip(*zip(firstnames, lastnames))
>>>
>>> print(fname)
('Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex')
>>> print(lname)
('Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel')
3.4.11. Strict¶
zip(*iterables, strict=False)Since Python 3.10: PEP 618 -- Add Optional Length-Checking To zip 1
Source 2
zip() adjusts to the shortest:
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = zip(firstnames, lastnames)
>>>
>>> list(result)
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis')]
zip() is often used in cases where the iterables are assumed to be of equal length.
In such cases, it's recommended to use the strict=True option.
Its output is the same as regular zip()
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa', 'Alex']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>> result = zip(firstnames, lastnames, strict=True)
>>>
>>> list(result)
[('Mark', 'Watney'), ('Melissa', 'Lewis'), ('Alex', 'Vogel')]
Unlike the default behavior, it checks that the lengths of iterables are identical, raising a ValueError if they aren't:
>>> firstnames = ['Mark', 'Melissa']
>>> lastnames = ['Watney', 'Lewis', 'Vogel']
>>>
>>> result = zip(firstnames, lastnames, strict=True)
Traceback (most recent call last):
ValueError: zip() argument 2 is longer than argument 1
Without the strict=True argument, any bug that results in iterables of different lengths will be silenced, possibly manifesting as a hard-to-find bug in another part of the program.