Scribd
Upload
15 views

Main

Uploaded by

Tural
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
15 views

Main

Uploaded by

Tural
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

for i in range(5):

print(i)

Generators - where to find them


Generator - what do you associate this word with? Perhaps it refers to some
electronic device. Or perhaps it refers to a heavy and serious machine designed to
produce power, electrical or other.

A Python generator is a piece of specialized code able to produce a series of


values, and to control the iteration process. This is why generators are very often
called iterators, and although some may find a very subtle distinction between
these two, we'll treat them as one.

You may not realize it, but you've encountered generators many, many times before.
Take a look at the very simple snippet:

for i in range(5):
print(i)

The range() function is, in fact, a generator, which is (in fact, again) an
iterator.

What is the difference?

A function returns one, well-defined value - it may be the result of a more or less
complex evaluation of, e.g., a polynomial, and is invoked once - only once.

A generator returns a series of values, and in general, is (implicitly) invoked


more than once.

In the example, the range() generator is invoked six times, providing five
subsequent values from zero to four, and finally signaling that the series is
complete.

The above process is completely transparent. Let's shed some light on it. Let's
show you the iterator protocol.

You might also like