Discussion 7: Linked Lists, Iterators, Generators

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Linked Lists

There are many different implementations of sequences in Python. Today, we'll explore the linked list implementation.

A linked list is either an empty linked list, or a Link object containing a first value and the rest of the linked list.

To check if a linked list is an empty linked list, compare it against the class attribute Link.empty:

if link is Link.empty:
    print('This linked list is empty!')
else:
    print('This linked list is not empty!')

You can find an implementation of the Link class below:

class Link:
    """A linked list."""
    empty = ()

    def __init__(self, first, rest=empty):
        assert rest is Link.empty or isinstance(rest, Link)
        self.first = first
        self.rest = rest

    def __repr__(self):
        if self.rest:
            rest_repr = ', ' + repr(self.rest)
        else:
            rest_repr = ''
        return 'Link(' + repr(self.first) + rest_repr + ')'

    def __str__(self):
        string = '<'
        while self.rest is not Link.empty:
            string += str(self.first) + ' '
            self = self.rest
        return string + str(self.first) + '>'

Q1: WWPD: Linked Lists

What would Python display?

Note: If you get stuck, try drawing out the box-and-pointer diagram for the linked list or running examples in 61A Code.

>>> link = Link(1, Link(2, Link(3)))
>>> link.first

Your Answer:

>>> link.rest.first

Your Answer:

>>> link.rest.rest.rest is Link.empty

Your Answer:

>>> link.rest = link.rest.rest
>>> link.rest.first

Your Answer:

>>> link = Link(1)
>>> link.rest = link
>>> link.rest.rest.rest.rest.first

Your Answer:

>>> link = Link(2, Link(3, Link(4)))
>>> link2 = Link(1, link)
>>> link2.first

Your Answer:

>>> link2.rest.first

Your Answer:

Q2: Remove All

Implement a function remove_all that takes a Link, and a value, and remove any linked list node containing that value. You can assume the list already has at least one node containing value and the first element is never removed. Notice that you are not returning anything, so you should mutate the list.

Note: Can you create a recursive and iterative solution for remove_all?

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Iterators

An iterable is an object where we can go through its elements one at a time. Specifically, we define an iterable as any object where calling the built-in iter function on it returns an iterator. An iterator is another type of object which can iterate over an iterable by keeping track of which element is next in the iterable.

For example, a sequence of numbers is an iterable, since iter gives us an iterator over the given sequence:

>>> lst = [1, 2, 3]
>>> lst_iter = iter(lst)
>>> lst_iter
<list_iterator object ...>

With an iterator, we can call next on it to get the next element in the iterator. If calling next on an iterator raises a StopIteration exception, this signals to us that the iterator has no more elements to go through. This will be explored in the example below.

Calling iter on an iterable multiple times returns a new iterator each time with distinct states (otherwise, you'd never be able to iterate through a iterable more than once). You can also call iter on the iterator itself, which will just return the same iterator without changing its state. However, note that you cannot call next directly on an iterable.

For example, we can see what happens when we use iter and next with a list:

>>> lst = [1, 2, 3]
>>> next(lst)             # Calling next on an iterable
TypeError: 'list' object is not an iterator
>>> list_iter = iter(lst) # Creates an iterator for the list
>>> next(list_iter)       # Calling next on an iterator
1
>>> next(iter(list_iter)) # Calling iter on an iterator returns itself
2
>>> for e in list_iter:   # Exhausts remainder of list_iter
...     print(e)
3
>>> next(list_iter)       # No elements left!
StopIteration
>>> lst                   # Original iterable is unaffected
[1, 2, 3]

Q3: WWPD: Iterators

What would Python display?

>>> s = [[1, 2, 3, 4]]
>>> i = iter(s)
>>> j = iter(next(i))
>>> next(j)

Your Answer:

>>> s.append(5)
>>> next(i)

Your Answer:

>>> next(j)

Your Answer:

>>> list(j)

Your Answer:

>>> next(i)

Your Answer:

Generators

We can define custom iterators by writing a generator function, which returns a special type of iterator called a generator.

A generator function has at least one yield statement and returns a generator object when we call it, without evaluating the body of the generator function itself.

When we first call next on the returned generator, then we will begin evaluating the body of the generator function until an element is yielded or the function otherwise stops (such as if we return). The generator remembers where we stopped, and will continue evaluating from that stopping point on the next time we call next.

As with other iterators, if there are no more elements to be generated, then calling next on the generator will give us a StopIteration.

For example, here's a generator function:

def countdown(n):
    print("Beginning countdown!")
    while n >= 0:
        yield n
        n -= 1
    print("Blastoff!")

To create a new generator object, we can call the generator function. Each returned generator object from a function call will separately keep track of where it is in terms of evaluating the body of the function. Notice that calling iter on a generator object doesn't create a new bookmark, but simply returns the existing generator object!

>>> c1, c2 = countdown(2), countdown(2)
>>> c1 is iter(c1)  # a generator is an iterator
True
>>> c1 is c2
False
>>> next(c1)
Beginning countdown!
2
>>> next(c2)
Beginning countdown!
2

In a generator function, we can also have a yield from statement, which will yield each element from an iterator or iterable.

>>> def gen_list(lst):
...     yield from lst
...
>>> g = gen_list([1, 2])
>>> next(g)
1
>>> next(g)
2
>>> next(g)
StopIteration

Q4: Filter-Iter

Implement a generator function called filter_iter(iterable, f) that only yields elements of iterable for which f returns True.

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Q5: Infinite Hailstone

Write a generator function that outputs the hailstone sequence starting at number n. After reaching the end of the hailstone sequence, the generator should yield the value 1 infinitely.

Here's a quick reminder of how the hailstone sequence is defined:

1. Pick a positive integer n as the start.
2. If n is even, divide it by 2.
3. If n is odd, multiply it by 3 and add 1.
4. Continue this process until n is 1.

Write this generator function recursively. If you're stuck, you can first try writing it iteratively and then seeing how you can turn that implementation into a recursive one.

Hint: Since hailstone returns a generator, you can yield from a call to hailstone!

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Q6: Primes Generator

Write a function primes_gen that takes a single argument n and yields all prime numbers less than or equal to n in decreasing order. Assume n >= 1. You may use the is_prime function included below, which we implemented in Discussion 3.

Optional Challenge: Now rewrite the generator so that it also prints the primes in ascending order.

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