What is a Python list comprehension?
A Python list comprehension provides a concise way to create lists. It consists of brackets containing an expression followed by a for
clause, then zero or more for
or if
clauses. The expression can be any valid Python expression and will be executed for each item in the iterable. The resulting list will contain the values produced by the expression.
List comprehensions are more compact and faster than traditional for loops for creating lists. They are especially useful for creating new lists where each element is the result of some operations applied to each member of another sequence or iterable.
For example, consider the following code that generates a list of squares:
squares = [x**2 for x in range(10)]
This code snippet is equivalent to:
squares = []
for x in range(10):
squares.append(x**2)
List comprehensions can also include conditionals to filter items from the original list. For example, to generate a list of even squares, you could use:
even_squares = [x**2 for x in range(10) if x % 2 == 0]
By using list comprehensions, you can write more readable and efficient Python code. For those looking to deepen their understanding and skills in Python, enrolling in a python certification course is highly recommended.