Difference between revisions of "Python:Iterative Structures"
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Often in solving engineering problems you will want a program to run pieces of code several times with slightly - or possibly vastly - different parameters. The number of times to run the code may depend on some logical expression or on the number of columns in a particular matrix. For these, you will use iterative structures. | Often in solving engineering problems you will want a program to run pieces of code several times with slightly - or possibly vastly - different parameters. The number of times to run the code may depend on some logical expression or on the number of columns in a particular matrix. For these, you will use iterative structures. | ||
Line 38: | Line 46: | ||
if x < 0 or x > 10: | if x < 0 or x > 10: | ||
− | x = | + | x = input('Incorrect value - number in range [0, 10]: ') |
else: | else: | ||
break | break | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
− | Note the use of <code>while True</code> here; this loop will run indefinitely on its own - the only thing that causes it to stop is if the <code>break</code> happens. | + | Note the use of <code>while True</code> here; this loop will run indefinitely on its own - the only thing that causes it to stop is if the <code>break</code> happens. |
+ | |||
+ | If you would like to watch the execution of the code above on PythonTutor, click [http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#code=x%20%3D%20input%28'Number%20in%20range%20%5B0,%2010%5D%3A%20'%29%0Awhile%20True%3A%0A%20%20%20%20try%3A%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20x%20%3D%20float%28x%29%0A%20%20%20%20except%20Exception%20as%20oops%3A%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20print%28oops%29%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20print%28'%22%7B%7D%22%20contains%20invalid%20characters'.format%28x%29%29%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20x%20%3D%20input%28'Number%20in%20range%20%5B0,%2010%5D%3A%20'%29%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20continue%0A%0A%20%20%20%20if%20x%20%3C%200%20or%20x%20%3E%2010%3A%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20x%20%3D%20input%28'Incorrect%20value%20-%20number%20in%20range%20%5B0,%2010%5D%3A%20'%29%0A%20%20%20%20else%3A%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20break&cumulative=false&heapPrimitives=nevernest&mode=edit&origin=opt-frontend.js&py=py3anaconda&rawInputLstJSON=%5B%22a%22,%2212%22,%22h%22,%226%22%5D&textReferences=false here]. | ||
=== <code>for</code> loops === | === <code>for</code> loops === | ||
Line 49: | Line 59: | ||
<syntaxhighlight lang=python> | <syntaxhighlight lang=python> | ||
for k in [3, 1, 4, 1, 5]: | for k in [3, 1, 4, 1, 5]: | ||
− | print(k) | + | print(k, end=' ') |
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
− | Output: | + | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> |
− | <div class="mw-collapsible-content"> | + | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> |
− | 3 | + | 3 1 4 1 5 |
− | 1 | ||
− | 4 | ||
− | 1 | ||
− | 5 | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
+ | |||
==== Scanning through a string==== | ==== Scanning through a string==== | ||
<syntaxhighlight lang=python> | <syntaxhighlight lang=python> | ||
Line 67: | Line 74: | ||
print(k) | print(k) | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | H | ||
+ | e | ||
+ | l | ||
+ | l | ||
+ | o | ||
+ | ! | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | |||
==== Scanning through a range (or map) ==== | ==== Scanning through a range (or map) ==== | ||
<syntaxhighlight lang=python> | <syntaxhighlight lang=python> | ||
for k in range(3, 7): | for k in range(3, 7): | ||
− | print(k) | + | print(k, end=' ') |
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | 3 4 5 6 | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | |||
==== Scanning through a dictionary==== | ==== Scanning through a dictionary==== | ||
Assume the following code has run to create a dictionary <code>d</code>: | Assume the following code has run to create a dictionary <code>d</code>: | ||
Line 88: | Line 114: | ||
for k in d: | for k in d: | ||
print(k) | print(k) | ||
+ | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | 4 | ||
+ | Duke | ||
+ | (20, 19) | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | <syntaxhighlight lang=python> | ||
for k in d.values(): | for k in d.values(): | ||
− | print(k) | + | print(k) |
+ | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | hello | ||
+ | 1.234 | ||
+ | [20, 23] | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | <syntaxhighlight lang=python> | ||
for k in d.items(): | for k in d.items(): | ||
print(k) | print(k) | ||
+ | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | (4, 'hello') | ||
+ | ('Duke', 1.234) | ||
+ | ((20, 19), [20, 23]) | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | <syntaxhighlight lang=python> | ||
for p, q in d.items(): | for p, q in d.items(): | ||
print('p: {}, q: {}'.format(p, q)) | print('p: {}, q: {}'.format(p, q)) | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | p: 4, q: hello | ||
+ | p: Duke, q: 1.234 | ||
+ | p: (20, 19), q: [20, 23] | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
==== Scanning through a sequence of sequences ==== | ==== Scanning through a sequence of sequences ==== | ||
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print('k: {}'.format(k)) | print('k: {}'.format(k)) | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | k: [1, 2] | ||
+ | k: [3, 'hi'] | ||
+ | k: [(4, 5, 6), [7, 8, 9]] | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
===== N scanning variables with a sequence of sequences all of size N ===== | ===== N scanning variables with a sequence of sequences all of size N ===== | ||
Line 113: | Line 185: | ||
print('a: {}; b: {}'.format(a, b)) | print('a: {}; b: {}'.format(a, b)) | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | a: 1; b: 2 | ||
+ | a: 3; b: hi | ||
+ | a: (4, 5, 6); b: [7, 8, 9] | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
===== One scanning variable with sequence of sequences all differing sizes ===== | ===== One scanning variable with sequence of sequences all differing sizes ===== | ||
Line 119: | Line 199: | ||
print('k: {}'.format(k)) | print('k: {}'.format(k)) | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | k: [1] | ||
+ | k: [2, 3] | ||
+ | k: [4, 5, 6] | ||
+ | k: Duke | ||
+ | k: [7, 'EGR', 103] | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
===== Multiple scanning variables including an *arg with sequence of sequences all differing sizes ===== | ===== Multiple scanning variables including an *arg with sequence of sequences all differing sizes ===== | ||
Line 125: | Line 215: | ||
print('a: {}; b: {}'.format(a, b)) | print('a: {}; b: {}'.format(a, b)) | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | a: 1; b: [] | ||
+ | a: 2; b: [3] | ||
+ | a: 4; b: [5, 6] | ||
+ | a: D; b: ['u', 'k', 'e'] | ||
+ | a: 7; b: ['EGR', 103] | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
Note that your sequences must have at least as many entries as the number of unstarred scanning variables and that you can only have one starred scanning variable. It does '''not''' have to come last, however: | Note that your sequences must have at least as many entries as the number of unstarred scanning variables and that you can only have one starred scanning variable. It does '''not''' have to come last, however: | ||
Line 131: | Line 231: | ||
print('a: {}; b: {}; c: {}'.format(a, b, c)) | print('a: {}; b: {}; c: {}'.format(a, b, c)) | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
+ | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
+ | <div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Output:</div> | ||
+ | <div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="white-space: pre;"> | ||
+ | a: L; b: ['M1', 'M2']; c: R | ||
+ | a: 1; b: []; c: 2 | ||
+ | a: 3; b: [4, 5, 6]; c: 7 | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | </div> | ||
First, note that each subsequence has at least two items. <code>a</code> will take the first one, <code>c</code> will take the '''last''' one, and then <code>b</code> will take over whatever remains. | First, note that each subsequence has at least two items. <code>a</code> will take the first one, <code>c</code> will take the '''last''' one, and then <code>b</code> will take over whatever remains. | ||
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[(0, 'G'), (1, 'o'), (2, ' '), (3, 'D'), (4, 'u'), (5, 'k'), (6, 'e'), (7, '!')] | [(0, 'G'), (1, 'o'), (2, ' '), (3, 'D'), (4, 'u'), (5, 'k'), (6, 'e'), (7, '!')] | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
− | You can now run a <code>for</code> loop on the results of the <code>enumerate</code> command; if you have two scanning variables, the first will pick up an index and the second will | + | You can now run a <code>for</code> loop on the results of the <code>enumerate</code> command; if you have two scanning variables, the first will pick up an index and the second will pick up the value: |
<syntaxhighlight lang="python"> | <syntaxhighlight lang="python"> | ||
for idx, val in enumerate(my_words): | for idx, val in enumerate(my_words): | ||
Line 193: | Line 301: | ||
idx: 7 val: ! | idx: 7 val: ! | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
− | |||
=== External Variable === | === External Variable === |
Latest revision as of 01:03, 18 September 2019
Often in solving engineering problems you will want a program to run pieces of code several times with slightly - or possibly vastly - different parameters. The number of times to run the code may depend on some logical expression or on the number of columns in a particular matrix. For these, you will use iterative structures.
Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Examples
- 2.1 while loops
- 2.2 for loops
- 2.2.1 Scanning through a list (or tuple, or array)
- 2.2.2 Scanning through a string
- 2.2.3 Scanning through a range (or map)
- 2.2.4 Scanning through a dictionary
- 2.2.5 Scanning through a sequence of sequences
- 2.2.5.1 One scanning variable with a sequence of sequences all of size N
- 2.2.5.2 N scanning variables with a sequence of sequences all of size N
- 2.2.5.3 One scanning variable with sequence of sequences all differing sizes
- 2.2.5.4 Multiple scanning variables including an *arg with sequence of sequences all differing sizes
- 3 Indexing Items
- 4 Questions
- 5 External Links
- 6 References
Introduction
There are two main iterative structures in Python: while
loops and for
loops. A while
loops is controlled by some logical expression which is evaluated before deciding whether to run the code it controls. If the expression is true, the while
loop will run the code it controls and once that code is done executing, it will reevaluate the logical expression. The loop will keep running until the logical expression is false at the time it gets evaluated.
A for
loop on the other hand has a variable that scans through the entries in some iterable item (for example a list, tuple, array, range, map, string, dictionary). The variable takes on the 0 indexed value of the item and runs the code it controls; once that code is done, it will take the next item from the sequence. The for
loop will run as many times as there are items in the sequence.
In both for
and while
loops, there are two commands that will change the behavior of the loop a bit. If you issue the continue
command, the loop will immediately skip to its own end as if the code block were over. A while
loop would then evaluate the logical expression again and re-run its code if the expression is still true; a for
loop will grab the next item from the sequence if there is on. The other command that changes how a loop behaves is a break
; if a loop runs a break
command it will skip out of the loop immediately.
Examples
while
loops
Imagine you want a user to enter a number between 0 and 10 inclusive; in cases where they get it wrong, you want them to try again. You might start your code by getting an input from the user:
x = input('Number in range [0, 10]: ')
If you run this code, you will realize that Python's input
command renders whatever you give it as a string. To fix that, you can tell Python to re-cast it as a float
:
x = float(input('Number in range [0, 10]: '))
This works, but it neither checks to see if the user actually entered a numerical type nor does it check if the value is in the right range. Because you will want the user to keep entering values until something valid is entered, you will use a while
loop to evaluate the answer and, if the value is bad, get another value:
x = float(input('Number in range [0, 10]: '))
while x < 0 or x > 10:
x = float(input('Incorrect value - number in range [0, 10]: '))
This now does exactly what you want it to do, as long as the user has given an input that can be rendered as a float. If the user enters a non-numerical character, Python will give an error. If you want to deal with that situation, you will need to check what the user gives as an input before trying to make it a float. This is complicated by the fact that Python does not currently have a great way to check if the contents of a string can represent a float. Given that, it might be easier to use Python's try
structure and then catch and display any exceptions. Here's an example that takes advantage of try
, continue
, and break
to first see if the string entered could be turned into a float and, if it can, if that float is in the proper range:
x = input('Number in range [0, 10]: ')
while True:
try:
x = float(x)
except Exception as oops:
print(oops)
print('"{}" contains invalid characters'.format(x))
x = input('Number in range [0, 10]: ')
continue
if x < 0 or x > 10:
x = input('Incorrect value - number in range [0, 10]: ')
else:
break
Note the use of while True
here; this loop will run indefinitely on its own - the only thing that causes it to stop is if the break
happens.
If you would like to watch the execution of the code above on PythonTutor, click here.
for
loops
The following codes will demonstrate different ways to scan through the entries of an iterable:
Scanning through a list (or tuple, or array)
for k in [3, 1, 4, 1, 5]:
print(k, end=' ')
3 1 4 1 5
Scanning through a string
for k in 'Hello!':
print(k)
H e l l o !
Scanning through a range (or map)
for k in range(3, 7):
print(k, end=' ')
3 4 5 6
Scanning through a dictionary
Assume the following code has run to create a dictionary d
:
d = {}
d[4]='hello'
d['Duke']=1.234
d[(20,19)] = [20, 23]
such that d
is now:
{4: 'hello', 'Duke': 1.234, (20, 19): [20, 23]}
There are four ways to scan through it:
for k in d:
print(k)
4 Duke (20, 19)
for k in d.values():
print(k)
hello 1.234 [20, 23]
for k in d.items():
print(k)
(4, 'hello') ('Duke', 1.234) ((20, 19), [20, 23])
for p, q in d.items():
print('p: {}, q: {}'.format(p, q))
p: 4, q: hello p: Duke, q: 1.234 p: (20, 19), q: [20, 23]
Scanning through a sequence of sequences
As noted above, the for
loop can either take each item in a sequence and assign it to a single variable or, if the items are themselves sequences, deal out the items within those sequences to multiple variables. The latter will only work if the number of items in the subsequence is the same as the number of variables or - and this is super fancy - you put an *arg type variable in your for
loop. Here are some examples:
One scanning variable with a sequence of sequences all of size N
for k in [[1, 2], [3, 'hi'], [(4, 5, 6), [7, 8, 9]]]:
print('k: {}'.format(k))
k: [1, 2] k: [3, 'hi'] k: [(4, 5, 6), [7, 8, 9]]
N scanning variables with a sequence of sequences all of size N
for a, b in [[1, 2], [3, 'hi'], [(4, 5, 6), [7, 8, 9]]]:
print('a: {}; b: {}'.format(a, b))
a: 1; b: 2 a: 3; b: hi a: (4, 5, 6); b: [7, 8, 9]
One scanning variable with sequence of sequences all differing sizes
for k in [[1], [2,3], [4, 5 ,6], 'Duke', [7, 'EGR', 103]]:
print('k: {}'.format(k))
k: [1] k: [2, 3] k: [4, 5, 6] k: Duke k: [7, 'EGR', 103]
Multiple scanning variables including an *arg with sequence of sequences all differing sizes
for a, *b in [[1], [2,3], [4, 5 ,6], 'Duke', [7, 'EGR', 103]]:
print('a: {}; b: {}'.format(a, b))
a: 1; b: [] a: 2; b: [3] a: 4; b: [5, 6] a: D; b: ['u', 'k', 'e'] a: 7; b: ['EGR', 103]
Note that your sequences must have at least as many entries as the number of unstarred scanning variables and that you can only have one starred scanning variable. It does not have to come last, however:
for a, *b, c in [['L', 'M1', 'M2', 'R'], [1, 2], [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]]:
print('a: {}; b: {}; c: {}'.format(a, b, c))
a: L; b: ['M1', 'M2']; c: R a: 1; b: []; c: 2 a: 3; b: [4, 5, 6]; c: 7
First, note that each subsequence has at least two items. a
will take the first one, c
will take the last one, and then b
will take over whatever remains.
Indexing Items
While using a loop, you may want to access certain elements of sequences within that loop. To do this, you will need a variable that holds on to the index number you want to access. There are at least three different ways to create this variable: using the loop scanning variable itself as in index, using the enumerate
function to generate a table of index and value pairs, or creating an external counter.
Scanner Variable
If you have a for
loop that is meant to go through a pre-determined number of iterations, you can set up the loop variable to keep track of what iteration you are on:
for k in range(12):
# Code
For instance, to obtain twelve different values from a user, you can use the following code:
temperatures = [None]*12
for k in range(12):
temperatures[k] = float(input('Enter a temperature: '))
This uses the fact that k
takes on the values of 0, 1, 2, 3, etc., which will work as your index variable. The temperatures
list will end up with the twelve values the users gave you. Of course, in Python if you are just building a list, you can also append things to the list without worrying about the index:
temperatures = []
for k in range(12):
temperatures += [float(input('Enter a temperature: '))]
Enumerated Iterable
If you are iterating over something that cannot be used as an index - for example, the characters in a string - you can use the enumerate
function to return an iterable that replaces each item with a tuple containing the index and value of the item. The enumerate
type is similar to range
and map
in that it does not have a good way of showing what it is actually equal to -- for that, you need to recast it as a list. For example, assuming you have run the following code:
my_words = 'Go Duke!'
my_enum = enumerate(my_words)
then
print(my_enum)
yields
<enumerate object at 0x000001BF3194C2D0>
while
print(list(my_enum))
yields:
[(0, 'G'), (1, 'o'), (2, ' '), (3, 'D'), (4, 'u'), (5, 'k'), (6, 'e'), (7, '!')]
You can now run a for
loop on the results of the enumerate
command; if you have two scanning variables, the first will pick up an index and the second will pick up the value:
for idx, val in enumerate(my_words):
print('idx: {} val: {}'.format(idx, val))
yields:
idx: 0 val: G
idx: 1 val: o
idx: 2 val:
idx: 3 val: D
idx: 4 val: u
idx: 5 val: k
idx: 6 val: e
idx: 7 val: !
External Variable
Sometimes, you will not have an integer-based scanning variable - or you may not have a scanning variable at all (example: while
loops). For those, you may have to start an external counter. For example, if you want to store temperature inputs so long as the temperatures entered are non-negative, you could write:
num_temps = 0;
temperatures = []
temp_in = float(input('Enter a temperature (negative to stop): '))
while temp_in >= 0:
num_temps += 1
temperatures += [temp_in]
temp_in = float(input('Enter a temperature (negative to stop): '))
At the end of this code, num_temps
will be a value that indicates how many entries there are in the temperatures
list.
Questions
Post your questions by editing the discussion page of this article. Edit the page, then scroll to the bottom and add a question by putting in the characters *{{Q}}, followed by your question and finally your signature (with four tildes, i.e. ~~~~). Using the {{Q}} will automatically put the page in the category of pages with questions - other editors hoping to help out can then go to that category page to see where the questions are. See the page for Template:Q for details and examples.