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The list Collection in Python

Tips and Traps

  1. list is essentially a resizable array of objects in Python.

  2. Almosts all methods of list are in-place.

  3. list.pop is inplace and returns the removed element.

  4. To get unique elements in a list, you can first coerce the list to a set and then convert the set back to a list.

     unique_list = list(set(alist))

Working with Iterators in Python

Iterator vs Generator

Generator is a special case of Iterator. Generator is easy and convenient to use but at additional cost (memory and speed). If you need performance, use plain iterator (with the help of the itertools module). If you need convenience and concise code, use generator.

Please refer to Python Generator vs Iterator for more detailed discussions.