Python: Default list in function - python-3.x

From the Summerfield's Programming in Python3:
it says as follows:
when default values are given, they are created at the time the def statement is executed, not when the function is called.
But my question is for the following example:
def append_if_even(x, lst =None):
lst = [] if lst is None else lst
if x % 2 ==0:
lst.append(x)
return lst
As the first time definition executed, lst is point to None
But after the function call append_if_even(2),
Shouldn't lst point to [2], since after lst.append(x) lst not point to None anymore ?
Why the next execution still make lst point to none?
What really happen inside this function call append_if_even(2)?

Shouldn't lst point to [2], since after lst.append(x) lst not point to None anymore? Why the next execution still make lst point to none?
That is exactly what you prevent by using the lst=None, lst = [] if lst is None else lst construction. While the default arguments for the function are evaluated only once at compile time, the code within the function is evaluated each time the function is executed. So each time you execute the function without passing a value for lst, it will start with the default value of None and then immediately be replaced by a new empty list when the first line of the function is executed.
If you instead were to define the function like this:
def append_if_even(x, lst=[]):
if x % 2 ==0:
lst.append(x)
return lst
Then it would act as you describe. The default value for lst will be the same list (initially empty) for every run of the function, and each even number passed to the function will be added to one growing list.
For more information, see "Least Astonishment" and the Mutable Default Argument.

Related

Output should be 4 and 1 but it's returning 4 and 5?

In the following code i am try to find kth factor of given number it's works fine until i created function and pass value to it can anyone tell me why it's returning wrong output.
when you call function only ones no matter what number you pass it shows correct output but when call function two time it returning wrong output.
#Code
fact = []
def factor(N,k):
for i in range(1,N+1):
if N % i == 0:
fact.append(i)
if len(fact)<k:
print(1)
else:
print(fact[k])
factor(12,3)
factor(30,9)
You have defined the fact variable of type list outside your function. So it is being referenced and used by both functions calls when you call it twice.
If you declare fact inside the function the scope of the variable will not persist and the number of times it is called will not be an issue.
def factor(N,k):
fact = []
for i in range(1,N+1):
if N % i == 0:
fact.append(i)
if len(fact)<k:
print(1)
else:
print(fact[k])

comparing elements of a list from an *args

I have this function that I need to compare the strings in a list to a *args
The reason being is that, the user should be able to type any words in the 2nd argument. However when I try to compare the strings to the *args it doesn't give me any results
def title_case2(title, *minor_words):
for x in title.split():
if x in minor_words:
print(x)
Assuming I ran the function with the parameters below. I was hoping it would display a and of since these words are found on those 2 entries.
title_case2('a clash of KINGS','a an the of')
*args is a tuple of arguments, so you're actually checking if x is in ('a an the of',). So either pass your argument as:
title_case2('a clash of KINGS', *'a an the of'.split())
Or, use this as your test:
if any(x in y for y in minor_words):
In either of the above cases the output is:
a
of
This is one approach.
Ex:
def title_case2(title, *minor_words):
minor_words = [j for i in minor_words for j in i.split()] #Create a flat list.
for x in title.split():
if x in minor_words:
print(x)
title_case2('a clash of KINGS','a an the of', "Jam")
using a for-loop instead of list comprehension
def title_case2(title, *minor_words):
minor_words_r = []
for i in minor_words:
for j in i.split():
minor_words_r.append(j)
for x in title.split():
if x in minor_words_r:
print(x)

python3 list creation from class makes a global list rather than a series iterated ones

So here is the problem I am having. I am trying to iterate the makeAThing class, and then create a list for the iteration using the makeAList class. Instead of making seperate lists for each iteration of makeAThing, it is making one big global list and adding the different values to it. Is there something I am missing/don't know yet, or is this just how python behaves?
class ListMaker(object):
def __init__(self,bigList = []):
self.bigList = bigList
class makeAThing(object):
def __init__(self,name = 0, aList = []):
self.name = name
self.aList = aList
def makeAList(self):
self.aList = ListMaker()
k = []
x = 0
while x < 3:
k.append(makeAThing())
k[x].name = x
k[x].makeAList()
k[x].aList.bigList.append(x)
x += 1
for e in k:
print(e.name, e.aList.bigList)
output:
0 [0, 1, 2]
1 [0, 1, 2]
2 [0, 1, 2]
the output I am trying to achieve:
0 [0]
1 [1]
2 [2]
After which I want to be able to edit the individual lists and keep them assigned to their iterations
Your init functions are using mutable default arguments.
From the Python documentation:
Default parameter values are evaluated from left to right when the
function definition is executed. This means that the expression is
evaluated once, when the function is defined, and that the same
“pre-computed” value is used for each call. This is especially
important to understand when a default parameter is a mutable object,
such as a list or a dictionary: if the function modifies the object
(e.g. by appending an item to a list), the default value is in effect
modified. This is generally not what was intended. A way around this
is to use None as the default, and explicitly test for it in the body
of the function, e.g.:
def whats_on_the_telly(penguin=None):
if penguin is None:
penguin = []
penguin.append("property of the zoo")
return penguin
In your code, the default argument bigList = [] is evaluated once - when the function is defined - the empty list is created once. Every time the function is called, the same list is used - even though it is no longer empty.
The default argument aList = [] has the same problem, but you immediately overwrite self.aList with a call to makeAList, so it doesn't cause any problems.
To verify this with your code, try the following after your code executes:
print(k[0].aList.bigList is k[1].aList.bigList)
The objects are the same.
There are instances where this behavior can be useful (Memoization comes to mind - although there are other/better ways of doing that). Generally, avoid mutable default arguments. The empty string is fine (and frequently used) because strings are immutable. For lists, dictionaries and the sort, you'll have to add a bit of logic inside the function.

What does this input via list-comprehension do?

You know when you find a solution via trial and error but you stumbled so much thtat you can't understand the answer now?
Well this is happening to me with this piece:
entr = [list(int(x) for x in input().split()) for i in range(int(input()))]
The input is done by copying and pasting this whole block:
9
8327 0
0070 0
2681 2
1767 0
3976 0
9214 2
2271 2
4633 0
9500 1
What is my list comprehension exactly doing in each step? And taking into account this: How can I rewrite it using for loops?
In fact, your code is not a nested list-comprehension, beause you use list construtor rather than mere list-comprehension.
This line serves as same as your code:
entr = [[int(x) for x in input().split()] for i in range(int(input()))]
To understand this line, you must remember the basic structure of list-comprehension in python, it consists of two component obj and condition with a square brackets surrounding:
lst = [obj condition]
it can be converted to a loop like this:
lst = []
condition:
lst.append(obj)
So, back to this question.
What you need to do now is to break the nested list-comprehension into loop in loop, usually you begin from the condition in latter part, from outer space to inner space. You got:
entr = []
for i in range(int(input())):
entr.append([int(x) for x in input().split()])) # the obj is a list in this case.
And now, you can break the list-comprehension in line 3.
entr = []
for i in range(int(input())):
entry = []
for x in input().split():
entry.append(int(x))
entr.append(entry)
So, now the stuff the original line can be easily understand.
the program construct a entry list named entr;
the program ask for user input and convert the input string into an int, which is the number of the entrys you want to input(assume it is num);
the program ask for user input for num times, each time you should input something seperate with spaces.
The program split every string into a list (named entry in above code) you input with str.split() method (with parameter sep default to space). And append each entry list in every loop.
for every element in the entry list, it converted to int.
My English may be poor, feel free to improve my answer:)
That is equivalent to this:
entr = []
for i in range(int(input())):
row = []
for x in input().split():
row.append(int(x))
entr.append(row)
You can copy-paste that into a list comprehension in a couple steps. First the inner loop/list:
entr = []
for i in range(int(input())):
row = [int(x) for x in input().split()]
entr.append(row)
Without the row variable:
entr = []
for i in range(int(input())):
entr.append([int(x) for x in input().split()])
Then the outer loop/list (copied over multiple lines for clarity):
entr = [
[int(x) for x in input().split()]
for i in range(int(input()))
]
You have that same nested comprehension except that the inner one has been written as a generator passed to the list constructor so it looks like list(int(x) for x in input().split()) instead of [int(x) for x in input().split()]. That's a little more confusing than using a list comprehension.
I hope that explanation helps!

Iteration to Recurssion

so myListToPyList(lst): takes lst, a MyList object and returns a Python list containing the same data
def myListToPyList(lst):
return myListToPyListRec(lst.head)
here's my helper function:
def myListToPyListRec(node):
if node == None:
return
else:
st1 = []
st1.append(node.data)
myListToPyListRec(node.next)
return st1
it's not working correctly.
Now here is my iterative solution that works correctly:
def myListToPyList(lst):
"""
Takes a list and returns a python list containing
the same data
param; lst
return; list
"""
st1 = []
curr = lst.head
while curr != None:
st1.append(curr.data)
curr = curr.next
return st1
Your current recursive code doesn't work because each time it gets called, it creates a new empty list, adds a single value to the list, then recurses (without passing the list along). This means that when the last item in the link list is being processed, the call stack will have N one-element Python lists (where N is the number of list nodes).
Instead, you should create the list just once, in your non-recursive wrapper function. Then pass it along through all of the recursion:
def myListToPyList(lst):
result_list = [] # create just one Python list object
myListToPyListRec(lst.head, result_list) # pass it to the recursive function
return result_list # return it after it has been filled
def myListToPyListRec(node, lst):
if node is not None # the base case is to do nothing (tested in reverse)
lst.append(node.data) # if node exists, append its data to lst
myListToPyListRec(node.next, lst) # then recurse on the next node
Because Python lists are mutable, we don't need to return anything in our recursive calls (None will be returned by default, but we ignore that). The list referred to by result_list in myListToPyList is the same object referred to by lst in each of the recursive calls to myListToPyListRec. As long as the recursive function mutates the object in place (e.g. with append) rather than rebinding it, they'll all see the same thing.
Note that recursion is going to be less eficient in Python than iteration, since function calls have more overhead than just updating a couple variables.
A while loop is equivalent to tail recursion, and vice versa. (One reason Python does not have automatic tail-call elimination is that the 'vice versa' part is rather easy.) The tail recursion requires that you add an accumulator parameter to be returned in the base case. Although I do not have a linked list for testing, I believe the following should work. (If not, this is close.) Python's default arguments make the helper either easier or unnecessary.
def myListToPyListRec(node, py_list=[]):
if node
py_list.append(node.data)
return myListToPyListRec(node.next, py_list)
else:
return py_list

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