Python list comprehensions
last modified January 29, 2024
In this article we will learn to use Python list comprehensions.
Python list comprehension
A list comprehension is a syntactic construct which creates a list based on existing list. List comprehensions provide a concise way to create lists. It is a common requirement to make new lists where each element is the result of some operations applied to each member of another sequence or iterable, or to create a subsequence of those elements that satisfy a certain condition.
Python list comprehension usage
A list comprehension can be used to:
- transform a list
- filter a list
The syntax of a list comprehension was influenced by mathematical notation of sets. The Python syntax was inspired by the Haskell programming language.
S = {x² : x in {0 ... 16}}
This is a mathematical notation for creating a set of integer values.
L = [expression [if condition] for variable in sequence [if condition]]
The above pseudo code shows the syntax of a list comprehension. It consists of three parts: a for loop, optional conditions, and an expression. A for loop goes through the sequence. For each loop an expression is evaluated if the condition is met. If the value is computed it is appended to the new list. There can be multiple for loops and if conditions.
Python list comprehension transforming list
The following example transforms a list into another list with the help of the list comprehension.
#!/usr/bin/python a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] b = [e * 2 for e in a] print(b)
In the first example, we create a new list from an existing list by multiplying each element by 2.
b = [e * 2 for e in a]
Each of the elements of the a list is multiplied by 2 and
the result is added to the new b list.
$ ./multiply_elements.py [2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12]
Each of the elements was multiplied by two.
Calculating Fahrenheit temperatures from Celsius
We have a list of temperatures in Celsius. We want to create a new list of temperatures expressed in Fahrenheit temperature.
#!/usr/bin/python celsius = [22, 28, 33, 42, 52] fahr = [e * 9/5 + 32 for e in celsius] print(fahr)
The example creates a new list of Fahrenheit temperatures calculated from a list of Celsius temperatures.
fahr = [e * 9/5 + 32 for e in celsius]
The calculation is done in the third, expression part of the Python list comprehension.
$ ./fahrenheit_celsius.py [71.6, 82.4, 91.4, 107.6, 125.6]
Python list comprehension filtering list
In the following example, we are going to filter a list with a list comprehension.
#!/usr/bin/python a = [-4, 2, 0, -1, 12, -3] b = [e for e in a if e > 0] print(b)
We have a list of integers. We create a new list where we only include positive integers.
b = [e for e in a if e > 0]
To include only positive numbers, we use an if condition,
which is applied on each of the elements; the elements are included
into the new list only if they satisfy the condition.
$ ./filter_positive.py [2, 12]
The next example filters elements by their type.
#!/usr/bin/python a = ['a', 2, 'c', 12, 3, 'd'] b = [e for e in a if type(e) == int] c = [e for e in a if type(e) == str] print(b) print(c)
We have a list of elements, which are integers and strings. We create two new lists; one having only integers and one only strings.
b = [e for e in a if type(e) == int]
Here we create a list b, which will contain only integer
values. The type function is used to determine the type
of the element.
$ ./filter_by_type.py [2, 12, 3] ['a', 'c', 'd']
Python list comprehension predicate
A predicate is a function that returns boolean value. If the condition is too complex, we can put it into a predicate.
#!/usr/bin/python
def is_vowel(c):
vowels = 'aeiou'
if c in vowels:
return True
else:
return False
sentence = 'There are eagles in the sky.'
vowels = [c for c in sentence if is_vowel(c)]
print(vowels)
The example filters out all vowels from a sentence.
def is_vowel(c):
vowels = 'aeiou'
if c in vowels:
return True
else:
return False
The function is a predicate. It returns True for a vowel character.
vowels = [c for c in sentence if is_vowel(c)]
The logic of the if condition is delegated to the
is_vowel predicate.
$ ./predicate.py ['e', 'e', 'a', 'e', 'e', 'a', 'e', 'i', 'e']
The if condition in front
The if condition can be placed in the front as well.
This way the data can be transformed.
#!/usr/bin/python data = ["even" if i % 2 == 0 else "odd" for i in range(7)] print(data)
In the example, we transform the values into "even"
and "odd" values using the list comprehension.
$ ./infront.py ['even', 'odd', 'even', 'odd', 'even', 'odd', 'even']
Python list comprehension multiple if conditions
It is possible to use multiple if conditions in the Python list comprehensions.
#!/usr/bin/python a = [9, 2, 18, 14, 22, 11, 7, 19, 23] b = [e for e in a if e > 10 if e < 20] print(b)
We create a new list of integers from list a, which are
greater than 10 and lower than 20.
b = [e for e in a if e > 10 if e < 20]
In this list comprehension, we use two if conditions.
$ ./multiple_conditions.py [18, 14, 11, 19]
Python list comprehension multiple for loops
It is possible to have multiple for loops in a Python list comprehension.
#!/usr/bin/python a = [1, 2, 3] b = ['A', 'B', 'C'] c = [ str(i) + j for i in a for j in b] print(c)
The example creates a Cartesian product of two lists.
c = [ str(i) + j for i in a for j in b]
Two for loops are used to create a Cartesian product.
$ ./multiple_for_loops.py ['1A', '1B', '1C', '2A', '2B', '2C', '3A', '3B', '3C']
The next example shows how to flatten a Python list.
#!/usr/bin/python nums = [[1, 2, 3], [3, 4, 5], [6, 7, 8]] c = [ e for num in nums for e in num] print(c)
The nums list is a list of nested lists. We flatten
the list with a list comprehension.
c = [ e for num in nums for e in num]
The first loop goes through the outer list; the second for loop goes through the nested lists.
$ ./flatten_list.py [1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
Python nested list comprehensions
The initial expression in a Python list comprehension can be another list comprehension.
#!/usr/bin/python
M1 = [[1, 2, 3],
[4, 5, 6],
[7, 8, 9]]
M1_tr = [[row[i] for row in M1] for i in range(3)]
print(M1_tr)
The example defines a matrix and a list comprehension creates a transposed matrix from the original matrix.
$ ./nested_list_comprehension.py [[1, 4, 7], [2, 5, 8], [3, 6, 9]]
Sieve of Eratosthenes
Sieve of Eratosthenes is an ancient algorithm to compute prime numbers. A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself. The algorithm iteratively marks as composite (i.e., not prime) the multiples of each prime, starting with the multiples of 2.
#!/usr/bin/python no_primes = [j for i in range(2, 8) for j in range(i*2, 100, i)] primes = [e for e in range(2, 100) if e not in no_primes] print (primes)
The example computes prime numbers up to 100.
no_primes = [j for i in range(2, 8) for j in range(i*2, 100, i)]
First, we create a list of numbers that are not primes.
primes = [e for e in range(2, 100) if e not in no_primes]
Prime numbers are simply these numbers that are not included
in the no_primes list.
$ ./sieve_of_eratosthenes.py [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97]
Source
Python datastructures - language reference
In this article we have presented the Python list comprehensions.
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