symbian-qemu-0.9.1-12/python-2.6.1/Doc/library/itertools.rst
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+
+:mod:`itertools` --- Functions creating iterators for efficient looping
+=======================================================================
+
+.. module:: itertools
+   :synopsis: Functions creating iterators for efficient looping.
+.. moduleauthor:: Raymond Hettinger <python@rcn.com>
+.. sectionauthor:: Raymond Hettinger <python@rcn.com>
+
+
+.. testsetup::
+
+   from itertools import *
+
+.. versionadded:: 2.3
+
+This module implements a number of :term:`iterator` building blocks inspired by
+constructs from the Haskell and SML programming languages.  Each has been recast
+in a form suitable for Python.
+
+The module standardizes a core set of fast, memory efficient tools that are
+useful by themselves or in combination.  Standardization helps avoid the
+readability and reliability problems which arise when many different individuals
+create their own slightly varying implementations, each with their own quirks
+and naming conventions.
+
+The tools are designed to combine readily with one another.  This makes it easy
+to construct more specialized tools succinctly and efficiently in pure Python.
+
+For instance, SML provides a tabulation tool: ``tabulate(f)`` which produces a
+sequence ``f(0), f(1), ...``.  This toolbox provides :func:`imap` and
+:func:`count` which can be combined to form ``imap(f, count())`` and produce an
+equivalent result.
+
+Likewise, the functional tools are designed to work well with the high-speed
+functions provided by the :mod:`operator` module.
+
+Whether cast in pure python form or compiled code, tools that use iterators are
+more memory efficient (and often faster) than their list based counterparts. Adopting
+the principles of just-in-time manufacturing, they create data when and where
+needed instead of consuming memory with the computer equivalent of "inventory".
+
+
+.. seealso::
+
+   The Standard ML Basis Library, `The Standard ML Basis Library
+   <http://www.standardml.org/Basis/>`_.
+
+   Haskell, A Purely Functional Language, `Definition of Haskell and the Standard
+   Libraries <http://www.haskell.org/definition/>`_.
+
+
+.. _itertools-functions:
+
+Itertool functions
+------------------
+
+The following module functions all construct and return iterators. Some provide
+streams of infinite length, so they should only be accessed by functions or
+loops that truncate the stream.
+
+
+.. function:: chain(*iterables)
+
+   Make an iterator that returns elements from the first iterable until it is
+   exhausted, then proceeds to the next iterable, until all of the iterables are
+   exhausted.  Used for treating consecutive sequences as a single sequence.
+   Equivalent to::
+
+      def chain(*iterables):
+          # chain('ABC', 'DEF') --> A B C D E F
+          for it in iterables:
+              for element in it:
+                  yield element
+
+
+.. function:: itertools.chain.from_iterable(iterable)
+
+   Alternate constructor for :func:`chain`.  Gets chained inputs from a 
+   single iterable argument that is evaluated lazily.  Equivalent to::
+
+      @classmethod
+      def from_iterable(iterables):
+          # chain.from_iterable(['ABC', 'DEF']) --> A B C D E F
+          for it in iterables:
+              for element in it:
+                  yield element
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.6
+
+
+.. function:: combinations(iterable, r)
+
+   Return *r* length subsequences of elements from the input *iterable*.
+
+   Combinations are emitted in lexicographic sort order.  So, if the 
+   input *iterable* is sorted, the combination tuples will be produced
+   in sorted order.  
+
+   Elements are treated as unique based on their position, not on their
+   value.  So if the input elements are unique, there will be no repeat
+   values in each combination.
+
+   Equivalent to::
+
+        def combinations(iterable, r):
+            # combinations('ABCD', 2) --> AB AC AD BC BD CD
+            # combinations(range(4), 3) --> 012 013 023 123
+            pool = tuple(iterable)
+            n = len(pool)
+            indices = range(r)
+            yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices)
+            while 1:
+                for i in reversed(range(r)):
+                    if indices[i] != i + n - r:
+                        break
+                else:
+                    return
+                indices[i] += 1
+                for j in range(i+1, r):
+                    indices[j] = indices[j-1] + 1
+                yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices)
+
+   The code for :func:`combinations` can be also expressed as a subsequence
+   of :func:`permutations` after filtering entries where the elements are not
+   in sorted order (according to their position in the input pool)::
+
+        def combinations(iterable, r):
+            pool = tuple(iterable)
+            n = len(pool)
+            for indices in permutations(range(n), r):
+                if sorted(indices) == list(indices):
+                    yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices)
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.6
+
+.. function:: count([n])
+
+   Make an iterator that returns consecutive integers starting with *n*. If not
+   specified *n* defaults to zero.   Often used as an argument to :func:`imap` to
+   generate consecutive data points. Also, used with :func:`izip` to add sequence
+   numbers.  Equivalent to::
+
+      def count(n=0):
+          # count(10) --> 10 11 12 13 14 ...
+          while True:
+              yield n
+              n += 1
+
+
+.. function:: cycle(iterable)
+
+   Make an iterator returning elements from the iterable and saving a copy of each.
+   When the iterable is exhausted, return elements from the saved copy.  Repeats
+   indefinitely.  Equivalent to::
+
+      def cycle(iterable):
+          # cycle('ABCD') --> A B C D A B C D A B C D ...
+          saved = []
+          for element in iterable:
+              yield element
+              saved.append(element)
+          while saved:
+              for element in saved:
+                    yield element
+
+   Note, this member of the toolkit may require significant auxiliary storage
+   (depending on the length of the iterable).
+
+
+.. function:: dropwhile(predicate, iterable)
+
+   Make an iterator that drops elements from the iterable as long as the predicate
+   is true; afterwards, returns every element.  Note, the iterator does not produce
+   *any* output until the predicate first becomes false, so it may have a lengthy
+   start-up time.  Equivalent to::
+
+      def dropwhile(predicate, iterable):
+          # dropwhile(lambda x: x<5, [1,4,6,4,1]) --> 6 4 1
+          iterable = iter(iterable)
+          for x in iterable:
+              if not predicate(x):
+                  yield x
+                  break
+          for x in iterable:
+              yield x
+
+
+.. function:: groupby(iterable[, key])
+
+   Make an iterator that returns consecutive keys and groups from the *iterable*.
+   The *key* is a function computing a key value for each element.  If not
+   specified or is ``None``, *key* defaults to an identity function and returns
+   the element unchanged.  Generally, the iterable needs to already be sorted on
+   the same key function.
+
+   The operation of :func:`groupby` is similar to the ``uniq`` filter in Unix.  It
+   generates a break or new group every time the value of the key function changes
+   (which is why it is usually necessary to have sorted the data using the same key
+   function).  That behavior differs from SQL's GROUP BY which aggregates common
+   elements regardless of their input order.
+
+   The returned group is itself an iterator that shares the underlying iterable
+   with :func:`groupby`.  Because the source is shared, when the :func:`groupby`
+   object is advanced, the previous group is no longer visible.  So, if that data
+   is needed later, it should be stored as a list::
+
+      groups = []
+      uniquekeys = []
+      data = sorted(data, key=keyfunc)
+      for k, g in groupby(data, keyfunc):
+          groups.append(list(g))      # Store group iterator as a list
+          uniquekeys.append(k)
+
+   :func:`groupby` is equivalent to::
+
+      class groupby(object):
+          # [k for k, g in groupby('AAAABBBCCDAABBB')] --> A B C D A B
+          # [(list(g)) for k, g in groupby('AAAABBBCCD')] --> AAAA BBB CC D
+          def __init__(self, iterable, key=None):
+              if key is None:
+                  key = lambda x: x
+              self.keyfunc = key
+              self.it = iter(iterable)
+              self.tgtkey = self.currkey = self.currvalue = object()
+          def __iter__(self):
+              return self
+          def next(self):
+              while self.currkey == self.tgtkey:
+                  self.currvalue = self.it.next() # Exit on StopIteration
+                  self.currkey = self.keyfunc(self.currvalue)
+              self.tgtkey = self.currkey
+              return (self.currkey, self._grouper(self.tgtkey))
+          def _grouper(self, tgtkey):
+              while self.currkey == tgtkey:
+                  yield self.currvalue
+                  self.currvalue = self.it.next() # Exit on StopIteration
+                  self.currkey = self.keyfunc(self.currvalue)
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.4
+
+
+.. function:: ifilter(predicate, iterable)
+
+   Make an iterator that filters elements from iterable returning only those for
+   which the predicate is ``True``. If *predicate* is ``None``, return the items
+   that are true. Equivalent to::
+
+      def ifilter(predicate, iterable):
+          # ifilter(lambda x: x%2, range(10)) --> 1 3 5 7 9
+          if predicate is None:
+              predicate = bool
+          for x in iterable:
+              if predicate(x):
+                  yield x
+
+
+.. function:: ifilterfalse(predicate, iterable)
+
+   Make an iterator that filters elements from iterable returning only those for
+   which the predicate is ``False``. If *predicate* is ``None``, return the items
+   that are false. Equivalent to::
+
+      def ifilterfalse(predicate, iterable):
+          # ifilterfalse(lambda x: x%2, range(10)) --> 0 2 4 6 8
+          if predicate is None:
+              predicate = bool
+          for x in iterable:
+              if not predicate(x):
+                  yield x
+
+
+.. function:: imap(function, *iterables)
+
+   Make an iterator that computes the function using arguments from each of the
+   iterables.  If *function* is set to ``None``, then :func:`imap` returns the
+   arguments as a tuple.  Like :func:`map` but stops when the shortest iterable is
+   exhausted instead of filling in ``None`` for shorter iterables.  The reason for
+   the difference is that infinite iterator arguments are typically an error for
+   :func:`map` (because the output is fully evaluated) but represent a common and
+   useful way of supplying arguments to :func:`imap`. Equivalent to::
+
+      def imap(function, *iterables):
+          # imap(pow, (2,3,10), (5,2,3)) --> 32 9 1000
+          iterables = map(iter, iterables)
+          while True:
+              args = [it.next() for it in iterables]
+              if function is None:
+                  yield tuple(args)
+              else:
+                  yield function(*args)
+
+
+.. function:: islice(iterable, [start,] stop [, step])
+
+   Make an iterator that returns selected elements from the iterable. If *start* is
+   non-zero, then elements from the iterable are skipped until start is reached.
+   Afterward, elements are returned consecutively unless *step* is set higher than
+   one which results in items being skipped.  If *stop* is ``None``, then iteration
+   continues until the iterator is exhausted, if at all; otherwise, it stops at the
+   specified position.  Unlike regular slicing, :func:`islice` does not support
+   negative values for *start*, *stop*, or *step*.  Can be used to extract related
+   fields from data where the internal structure has been flattened (for example, a
+   multi-line report may list a name field on every third line).  Equivalent to::
+
+      def islice(iterable, *args):
+          # islice('ABCDEFG', 2) --> A B
+          # islice('ABCDEFG', 2, 4) --> C D
+          # islice('ABCDEFG', 2, None) --> C D E F G
+          # islice('ABCDEFG', 0, None, 2) --> A C E G
+          s = slice(*args)
+          it = iter(xrange(s.start or 0, s.stop or sys.maxint, s.step or 1))
+          nexti = it.next()
+          for i, element in enumerate(iterable):
+              if i == nexti:
+                  yield element
+                  nexti = it.next()          
+
+   If *start* is ``None``, then iteration starts at zero. If *step* is ``None``,
+   then the step defaults to one.
+
+   .. versionchanged:: 2.5
+      accept ``None`` values for default *start* and *step*.
+
+
+.. function:: izip(*iterables)
+
+   Make an iterator that aggregates elements from each of the iterables. Like
+   :func:`zip` except that it returns an iterator instead of a list.  Used for
+   lock-step iteration over several iterables at a time.  Equivalent to::
+
+      def izip(*iterables):
+          # izip('ABCD', 'xy') --> Ax By
+          iterables = map(iter, iterables)
+          while iterables:
+              result = [it.next() for it in iterables]
+              yield tuple(result)
+
+   .. versionchanged:: 2.4
+      When no iterables are specified, returns a zero length iterator instead of
+      raising a :exc:`TypeError` exception.
+
+   The left-to-right evaluation order of the iterables is guaranteed. This
+   makes possible an idiom for clustering a data series into n-length groups
+   using ``izip(*[iter(s)]*n)``.
+
+   :func:`izip` should only be used with unequal length inputs when you don't
+   care about trailing, unmatched values from the longer iterables.  If those
+   values are important, use :func:`izip_longest` instead.
+
+
+.. function:: izip_longest(*iterables[, fillvalue])
+
+   Make an iterator that aggregates elements from each of the iterables. If the
+   iterables are of uneven length, missing values are filled-in with *fillvalue*.
+   Iteration continues until the longest iterable is exhausted.  Equivalent to::
+
+      def izip_longest(*args, **kwds):
+          # izip_longest('ABCD', 'xy', fillvalue='-') --> Ax By C- D-
+          fillvalue = kwds.get('fillvalue')
+          def sentinel(counter = ([fillvalue]*(len(args)-1)).pop):
+              yield counter()         # yields the fillvalue, or raises IndexError
+          fillers = repeat(fillvalue)
+          iters = [chain(it, sentinel(), fillers) for it in args]
+          try:
+              for tup in izip(*iters):
+                  yield tup
+          except IndexError:
+              pass
+
+   If one of the iterables is potentially infinite, then the
+   :func:`izip_longest` function should be wrapped with something that limits
+   the number of calls (for example :func:`islice` or :func:`takewhile`).  If
+   not specified, *fillvalue* defaults to ``None``.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.6
+
+.. function:: permutations(iterable[, r])
+
+   Return successive *r* length permutations of elements in the *iterable*.
+
+   If *r* is not specified or is ``None``, then *r* defaults to the length
+   of the *iterable* and all possible full-length permutations 
+   are generated.
+
+   Permutations are emitted in lexicographic sort order.  So, if the 
+   input *iterable* is sorted, the permutation tuples will be produced
+   in sorted order.  
+
+   Elements are treated as unique based on their position, not on their
+   value.  So if the input elements are unique, there will be no repeat
+   values in each permutation.
+
+   Equivalent to::
+
+        def permutations(iterable, r=None):
+            # permutations('ABCD', 2) --> AB AC AD BA BC BD CA CB CD DA DB DC
+            # permutations(range(3)) --> 012 021 102 120 201 210
+            pool = tuple(iterable)
+            n = len(pool)
+            r = n if r is None else r
+            indices = range(n)
+            cycles = range(n, n-r, -1)
+            yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices[:r])
+            while n:
+                for i in reversed(range(r)):
+                    cycles[i] -= 1
+                    if cycles[i] == 0:
+                        indices[i:] = indices[i+1:] + indices[i:i+1]
+                        cycles[i] = n - i
+                    else:
+                        j = cycles[i]
+                        indices[i], indices[-j] = indices[-j], indices[i]
+                        yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices[:r])
+                        break
+                else:
+                    return
+
+   The code for :func:`permutations` can be also expressed as a subsequence of 
+   :func:`product`, filtered to exclude entries with repeated elements (those
+   from the same position in the input pool)::
+
+        def permutations(iterable, r=None):
+            pool = tuple(iterable)
+            n = len(pool)
+            r = n if r is None else r
+            for indices in product(range(n), repeat=r):
+                if len(set(indices)) == r:
+                    yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices)
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.6
+
+.. function:: product(*iterables[, repeat])
+
+   Cartesian product of input iterables.
+
+   Equivalent to nested for-loops in a generator expression. For example,
+   ``product(A, B)`` returns the same as ``((x,y) for x in A for y in B)``.
+
+   The nested loops cycle like an odometer with the rightmost element advancing
+   on every iteration.  This pattern creates a lexicographic ordering so that if
+   the input's iterables are sorted, the product tuples are emitted in sorted
+   order.
+
+   To compute the product of an iterable with itself, specify the number of
+   repetitions with the optional *repeat* keyword argument.  For example,
+   ``product(A, repeat=4)`` means the same as ``product(A, A, A, A)``.
+
+   This function is equivalent to the following code, except that the
+   actual implementation does not build up intermediate results in memory::
+
+       def product(*args, **kwds):
+           # product('ABCD', 'xy') --> Ax Ay Bx By Cx Cy Dx Dy
+           # product(range(2), repeat=3) --> 000 001 010 011 100 101 110 111
+           pools = map(tuple, args) * kwds.get('repeat', 1)
+           result = [[]]
+           for pool in pools:
+               result = [x+[y] for x in result for y in pool]
+           for prod in result:
+               yield tuple(prod)
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.6
+
+.. function:: repeat(object[, times])
+
+   Make an iterator that returns *object* over and over again. Runs indefinitely
+   unless the *times* argument is specified. Used as argument to :func:`imap` for
+   invariant function parameters.  Also used with :func:`izip` to create constant
+   fields in a tuple record.  Equivalent to::
+
+      def repeat(object, times=None):
+          # repeat(10, 3) --> 10 10 10
+          if times is None:
+              while True:
+                  yield object
+          else:
+              for i in xrange(times):
+                  yield object
+
+
+.. function:: starmap(function, iterable)
+
+   Make an iterator that computes the function using arguments obtained from
+   the iterable.  Used instead of :func:`imap` when argument parameters are already
+   grouped in tuples from a single iterable (the data has been "pre-zipped").  The
+   difference between :func:`imap` and :func:`starmap` parallels the distinction
+   between ``function(a,b)`` and ``function(*c)``. Equivalent to::
+
+      def starmap(function, iterable):
+          # starmap(pow, [(2,5), (3,2), (10,3)]) --> 32 9 1000
+          for args in iterable:
+              yield function(*args)
+
+   .. versionchanged:: 2.6
+      Previously, :func:`starmap` required the function arguments to be tuples.
+      Now, any iterable is allowed.
+
+.. function:: takewhile(predicate, iterable)
+
+   Make an iterator that returns elements from the iterable as long as the
+   predicate is true.  Equivalent to::
+
+      def takewhile(predicate, iterable):
+          # takewhile(lambda x: x<5, [1,4,6,4,1]) --> 1 4
+          for x in iterable:
+              if predicate(x):
+                  yield x
+              else:
+                  break
+
+
+.. function:: tee(iterable[, n=2])
+
+   Return *n* independent iterators from a single iterable. The case where ``n==2``
+   is equivalent to::
+
+      def tee(iterable):
+          def gen(next, data={}):
+              for i in count():
+                  if i in data:
+                      yield data.pop(i)
+                  else:
+                      data[i] = next()
+                      yield data[i]
+          it = iter(iterable)
+          return gen(it.next), gen(it.next)
+
+   Note, once :func:`tee` has made a split, the original *iterable* should not be
+   used anywhere else; otherwise, the *iterable* could get advanced without the tee
+   objects being informed.
+
+   Note, this member of the toolkit may require significant auxiliary storage
+   (depending on how much temporary data needs to be stored). In general, if one
+   iterator is going to use most or all of the data before the other iterator, it
+   is faster to use :func:`list` instead of :func:`tee`.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.4
+
+
+.. _itertools-example:
+
+Examples
+--------
+
+The following examples show common uses for each tool and demonstrate ways they
+can be combined.
+
+.. doctest::
+
+   # Show a dictionary sorted and grouped by value
+   >>> from operator import itemgetter
+   >>> d = dict(a=1, b=2, c=1, d=2, e=1, f=2, g=3)
+   >>> di = sorted(d.iteritems(), key=itemgetter(1))
+   >>> for k, g in groupby(di, key=itemgetter(1)):
+   ...     print k, map(itemgetter(0), g)
+   ...
+   1 ['a', 'c', 'e']
+   2 ['b', 'd', 'f']
+   3 ['g']
+
+   # Find runs of consecutive numbers using groupby.  The key to the solution
+   # is differencing with a range so that consecutive numbers all appear in
+   # same group.
+   >>> data = [ 1,  4,5,6, 10, 15,16,17,18, 22, 25,26,27,28]
+   >>> for k, g in groupby(enumerate(data), lambda (i,x):i-x):
+   ...     print map(itemgetter(1), g)
+   ... 
+   [1]
+   [4, 5, 6]
+   [10]
+   [15, 16, 17, 18]
+   [22]
+   [25, 26, 27, 28]
+
+
+
+.. _itertools-recipes:
+
+Recipes
+-------
+
+This section shows recipes for creating an extended toolset using the existing
+itertools as building blocks.
+
+The extended tools offer the same high performance as the underlying toolset.
+The superior memory performance is kept by processing elements one at a time
+rather than bringing the whole iterable into memory all at once. Code volume is
+kept small by linking the tools together in a functional style which helps
+eliminate temporary variables.  High speed is retained by preferring
+"vectorized" building blocks over the use of for-loops and :term:`generator`\s
+which incur interpreter overhead.
+
+.. testcode::
+
+   def take(n, iterable):
+       "Return first n items of the iterable as a list"
+       return list(islice(iterable, n))
+
+   def enumerate(iterable, start=0):
+       return izip(count(start), iterable)
+
+   def tabulate(function, start=0):
+       "Return function(0), function(1), ..."
+       return imap(function, count(start))
+
+   def nth(iterable, n):
+       "Returns the nth item or empty list"
+       return list(islice(iterable, n, n+1))
+
+   def quantify(iterable, pred=bool):
+       "Count how many times the predicate is true"
+       return sum(imap(pred, iterable))
+
+   def padnone(iterable):
+       """Returns the sequence elements and then returns None indefinitely.
+
+       Useful for emulating the behavior of the built-in map() function.
+       """
+       return chain(iterable, repeat(None))
+
+   def ncycles(iterable, n):
+       "Returns the sequence elements n times"
+       return chain.from_iterable(repeat(iterable, n))
+
+   def dotproduct(vec1, vec2):
+       return sum(imap(operator.mul, vec1, vec2))
+
+   def flatten(listOfLists):
+       return list(chain.from_iterable(listOfLists))
+
+   def repeatfunc(func, times=None, *args):
+       """Repeat calls to func with specified arguments.
+
+       Example:  repeatfunc(random.random)
+       """
+       if times is None:
+           return starmap(func, repeat(args))
+       return starmap(func, repeat(args, times))
+
+   def pairwise(iterable):
+       "s -> (s0,s1), (s1,s2), (s2, s3), ..."
+       a, b = tee(iterable)
+       for elem in b:
+           break
+       return izip(a, b)
+
+   def grouper(n, iterable, fillvalue=None):
+       "grouper(3, 'ABCDEFG', 'x') --> ABC DEF Gxx"
+       args = [iter(iterable)] * n
+       return izip_longest(fillvalue=fillvalue, *args)
+
+   def roundrobin(*iterables):
+       "roundrobin('ABC', 'D', 'EF') --> A D E B F C"
+       # Recipe credited to George Sakkis
+       pending = len(iterables)
+       nexts = cycle(iter(it).next for it in iterables)
+       while pending:
+           try:
+               for next in nexts:
+                   yield next()
+           except StopIteration:
+               pending -= 1
+               nexts = cycle(islice(nexts, pending))
+
+   def powerset(iterable):
+       "powerset('ab') --> set([]), set(['a']), set(['b']), set(['a', 'b'])"
+       # Recipe credited to Eric Raymond
+       pairs = [(2**i, x) for i, x in enumerate(iterable)]
+       for n in xrange(2**len(pairs)):
+           yield set(x for m, x in pairs if m&n)
+
+   def compress(data, selectors):
+       "compress('ABCDEF', [1,0,1,0,1,1]) --> A C E F"
+       return (d for d, s in izip(data, selectors) if s)
+
+   def combinations_with_replacement(iterable, r):
+       "combinations_with_replacement('ABC', 3) --> AA AB AC BB BC CC"
+       pool = tuple(iterable)
+       n = len(pool)
+       indices = [0] * r
+       yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices)
+       while 1:
+           for i in reversed(range(r)):
+               if indices[i] != n - 1:
+                   break
+           else:
+               return
+           indices[i:] = [indices[i] + 1] * (r - i)
+           yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices)