|  | 
 | :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 APL, Haskell, and SML.  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.  Together, they form an "iterator | 
 | algebra" making it possible to construct 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), ...``.  The same effect can be achieved in Python | 
 | by combining :func:`imap` and :func:`count` to form ``imap(f, count())``. | 
 |  | 
 | These tools and their built-in counterparts also work well with the high-speed | 
 | functions in the :mod:`operator` module.  For example, the multiplication | 
 | operator can be mapped across two vectors to form an efficient dot-product: | 
 | ``sum(imap(operator.mul, vector1, vector2))``. | 
 |  | 
 |  | 
 | **Infinite Iterators:** | 
 |  | 
 | ==================  =================       =================================================               ========================================= | 
 | Iterator            Arguments               Results                                                         Example | 
 | ==================  =================       =================================================               ========================================= | 
 | :func:`count`       start, [step]           start, start+step, start+2*step, ...                            ``count(10) --> 10 11 12 13 14 ...`` | 
 | :func:`cycle`       p                       p0, p1, ... plast, p0, p1, ...                                  ``cycle('ABCD') --> A B C D A B C D ...`` | 
 | :func:`repeat`      elem [,n]               elem, elem, elem, ... endlessly or up to n times                ``repeat(10, 3) --> 10 10 10`` | 
 | ==================  =================       =================================================               ========================================= | 
 |  | 
 | **Iterators terminating on the shortest input sequence:** | 
 |  | 
 | ====================    ============================    =================================================   ============================================================= | 
 | Iterator                Arguments                       Results                                             Example | 
 | ====================    ============================    =================================================   ============================================================= | 
 | :func:`chain`           p, q, ...                       p0, p1, ... plast, q0, q1, ...                      ``chain('ABC', 'DEF') --> A B C D E F`` | 
 | :func:`compress`        data, selectors                 (d[0] if s[0]), (d[1] if s[1]), ...                 ``compress('ABCDEF', [1,0,1,0,1,1]) --> A C E F`` | 
 | :func:`dropwhile`       pred, seq                       seq[n], seq[n+1], starting when pred fails          ``dropwhile(lambda x: x<5, [1,4,6,4,1]) --> 6 4 1`` | 
 | :func:`groupby`         iterable[, keyfunc]             sub-iterators grouped by value of keyfunc(v) | 
 | :func:`ifilter`         pred, seq                       elements of seq where pred(elem) is true            ``ifilter(lambda x: x%2, range(10)) --> 1 3 5 7 9`` | 
 | :func:`ifilterfalse`    pred, seq                       elements of seq where pred(elem) is false           ``ifilterfalse(lambda x: x%2, range(10)) --> 0 2 4 6 8`` | 
 | :func:`islice`          seq, [start,] stop [, step]     elements from seq[start:stop:step]                  ``islice('ABCDEFG', 2, None) --> C D E F G`` | 
 | :func:`imap`            func, p, q, ...                 func(p0, q0), func(p1, q1), ...                     ``imap(pow, (2,3,10), (5,2,3)) --> 32 9 1000`` | 
 | :func:`starmap`         func, seq                       func(\*seq[0]), func(\*seq[1]), ...                 ``starmap(pow, [(2,5), (3,2), (10,3)]) --> 32 9 1000`` | 
 | :func:`tee`             it, n                           it1, it2, ... itn  splits one iterator into n | 
 | :func:`takewhile`       pred, seq                       seq[0], seq[1], until pred fails                    ``takewhile(lambda x: x<5, [1,4,6,4,1]) --> 1 4`` | 
 | :func:`izip`            p, q, ...                       (p[0], q[0]), (p[1], q[1]), ...                     ``izip('ABCD', 'xy') --> Ax By`` | 
 | :func:`izip_longest`    p, q, ...                       (p[0], q[0]), (p[1], q[1]), ...                     ``izip_longest('ABCD', 'xy', fillvalue='-') --> Ax By C- D-`` | 
 | ====================    ============================    =================================================   ============================================================= | 
 |  | 
 | **Combinatoric generators:** | 
 |  | 
 | ==============================================   ====================       ============================================================= | 
 | Iterator                                         Arguments                  Results | 
 | ==============================================   ====================       ============================================================= | 
 | :func:`product`                                  p, q, ... [repeat=1]       cartesian product, equivalent to a nested for-loop | 
 | :func:`permutations`                             p[, r]                     r-length tuples, all possible orderings, no repeated elements | 
 | :func:`combinations`                             p, r                       r-length tuples, in sorted order, no repeated elements | 
 | :func:`combinations_with_replacement`            p, r                       r-length tuples, in sorted order, with repeated elements | 
 | ``product('ABCD', repeat=2)``                                               ``AA AB AC AD BA BB BC BD CA CB CC CD DA DB DC DD`` | 
 | ``permutations('ABCD', 2)``                                                 ``AB AC AD BA BC BD CA CB CD DA DB DC`` | 
 | ``combinations('ABCD', 2)``                                                 ``AB AC AD BC BD CD`` | 
 | ``combinations_with_replacement('ABCD', 2)``                                ``AA AB AC AD BB BC BD CC CD DD`` | 
 | ==============================================   ====================       ============================================================= | 
 |  | 
 |  | 
 | .. _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 | 
 |  | 
 |  | 
 | .. classmethod:: chain.from_iterable(iterable) | 
 |  | 
 |    Alternate constructor for :func:`chain`.  Gets chained inputs from a | 
 |    single iterable argument that is evaluated lazily.  Roughly equivalent to:: | 
 |  | 
 |       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) | 
 |             if r > n: | 
 |                 return | 
 |             indices = range(r) | 
 |             yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices) | 
 |             while True: | 
 |                 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) | 
 |  | 
 |    The number of items returned is ``n! / r! / (n-r)!`` when ``0 <= r <= n`` | 
 |    or zero when ``r > n``. | 
 |  | 
 |    .. versionadded:: 2.6 | 
 |  | 
 | .. function:: combinations_with_replacement(iterable, r) | 
 |  | 
 |    Return *r* length subsequences of elements from the input *iterable* | 
 |    allowing individual elements to be repeated more than once. | 
 |  | 
 |    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, the generated combinations | 
 |    will also be unique. | 
 |  | 
 |    Equivalent to:: | 
 |  | 
 |         def combinations_with_replacement(iterable, r): | 
 |             # combinations_with_replacement('ABC', 2) --> AA AB AC BB BC CC | 
 |             pool = tuple(iterable) | 
 |             n = len(pool) | 
 |             if not n and r: | 
 |                 return | 
 |             indices = [0] * r | 
 |             yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices) | 
 |             while True: | 
 |                 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) | 
 |  | 
 |    The code for :func:`combinations_with_replacement` can be also expressed as | 
 |    a subsequence of :func:`product` after filtering entries where the elements | 
 |    are not in sorted order (according to their position in the input pool):: | 
 |  | 
 |         def combinations_with_replacement(iterable, r): | 
 |             pool = tuple(iterable) | 
 |             n = len(pool) | 
 |             for indices in product(range(n), repeat=r): | 
 |                 if sorted(indices) == list(indices): | 
 |                     yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices) | 
 |  | 
 |    The number of items returned is ``(n+r-1)! / r! / (n-1)!`` when ``n > 0``. | 
 |  | 
 |    .. versionadded:: 2.7 | 
 |  | 
 | .. function:: compress(data, selectors) | 
 |  | 
 |    Make an iterator that filters elements from *data* returning only those that | 
 |    have a corresponding element in *selectors* that evaluates to ``True``. | 
 |    Stops when either the *data* or *selectors* iterables has been exhausted. | 
 |    Equivalent to:: | 
 |  | 
 |        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) | 
 |  | 
 |    .. versionadded:: 2.7 | 
 |  | 
 |  | 
 | .. function:: count(start=0, step=1) | 
 |  | 
 |    Make an iterator that returns evenly spaced values starting with *n*. 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(start=0, step=1): | 
 |           # count(10) --> 10 11 12 13 14 ... | 
 |           # count(2.5, 0.5) -> 2.5 3.0 3.5 ... | 
 |           n = start | 
 |           while True: | 
 |               yield n | 
 |               n += step | 
 |  | 
 |    When counting with floating point numbers, better accuracy can sometimes be | 
 |    achieved by substituting multiplicative code such as: ``(start + step * i | 
 |    for i in count())``. | 
 |  | 
 |    .. versionchanged:: 2.7 | 
 |       added *step* argument and allowed non-integer arguments. | 
 |  | 
 | .. 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 = next(self.it)    # 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 = next(self.it)    # 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 = [next(it) for it in iterables] | 
 |               if function is None: | 
 |                   yield tuple(args) | 
 |               else: | 
 |                   yield function(*args) | 
 |  | 
 |  | 
 | .. function:: islice(iterable, stop) | 
 |               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 = next(it) | 
 |           for i, element in enumerate(iterable): | 
 |               if i == nexti: | 
 |                   yield element | 
 |                   nexti = next(it) | 
 |  | 
 |    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 | 
 |           iterators = map(iter, iterables) | 
 |           while iterators: | 
 |               yield tuple(map(next, iterators)) | 
 |  | 
 |    .. 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:: | 
 |  | 
 |       class ZipExhausted(Exception): | 
 |           pass | 
 |  | 
 |       def izip_longest(*args, **kwds): | 
 |           # izip_longest('ABCD', 'xy', fillvalue='-') --> Ax By C- D- | 
 |           fillvalue = kwds.get('fillvalue') | 
 |           counter = [len(args) - 1] | 
 |           def sentinel(): | 
 |               if not counter[0]: | 
 |                   raise ZipExhausted | 
 |               counter[0] -= 1 | 
 |               yield fillvalue | 
 |           fillers = repeat(fillvalue) | 
 |           iterators = [chain(it, sentinel(), fillers) for it in args] | 
 |           try: | 
 |               while iterators: | 
 |                   yield tuple(map(next, iterators)) | 
 |           except ZipExhausted: | 
 |               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 | 
 |             if r > n: | 
 |                 return | 
 |             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) | 
 |  | 
 |    The number of items returned is ``n! / (n-r)!`` when ``0 <= r <= n`` | 
 |    or zero when ``r > n``. | 
 |  | 
 |    .. 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 | 
 |  | 
 |    A common use for *repeat* is to supply a stream of constant values to *imap* | 
 |    or *zip*:: | 
 |  | 
 |       >>> list(imap(pow, xrange(10), repeat(2))) | 
 |       [0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81] | 
 |  | 
 | .. 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.  Equivalent to:: | 
 |  | 
 |         def tee(iterable, n=2): | 
 |             it = iter(iterable) | 
 |             deques = [collections.deque() for i in range(n)] | 
 |             def gen(mydeque): | 
 |                 while True: | 
 |                     if not mydeque:             # when the local deque is empty | 
 |                         newval = next(it)       # fetch a new value and | 
 |                         for d in deques:        # load it to all the deques | 
 |                             d.append(newval) | 
 |                     yield mydeque.popleft() | 
 |             return tuple(gen(d) for d in deques) | 
 |  | 
 |    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. | 
 |  | 
 |    This itertool may require significant auxiliary storage (depending on how | 
 |    much temporary data needs to be stored). In general, if one iterator uses | 
 |    most or all of the data before another iterator starts, it is faster to use | 
 |    :func:`list` instead of :func:`tee`. | 
 |  | 
 |    .. versionadded:: 2.4 | 
 |  | 
 |  | 
 | .. _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 tabulate(function, start=0): | 
 |        "Return function(0), function(1), ..." | 
 |        return imap(function, count(start)) | 
 |  | 
 |    def consume(iterator, n): | 
 |        "Advance the iterator n-steps ahead. If n is none, consume entirely." | 
 |        # Use functions that consume iterators at C speed. | 
 |        if n is None: | 
 |            # feed the entire iterator into a zero-length deque | 
 |            collections.deque(iterator, maxlen=0) | 
 |        else: | 
 |            # advance to the empty slice starting at position n | 
 |            next(islice(iterator, n, n), None) | 
 |  | 
 |    def nth(iterable, n, default=None): | 
 |        "Returns the nth item or a default value" | 
 |        return next(islice(iterable, n, None), default) | 
 |  | 
 |    def all_equal(iterable): | 
 |        "Returns True if all the elements are equal to each other" | 
 |        g = groupby(iterable) | 
 |        return next(g, True) and not next(g, False) | 
 |  | 
 |    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(tuple(iterable), n)) | 
 |  | 
 |    def dotproduct(vec1, vec2): | 
 |        return sum(imap(operator.mul, vec1, vec2)) | 
 |  | 
 |    def flatten(listOfLists): | 
 |        "Flatten one level of nesting" | 
 |        return 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) | 
 |        next(b, None) | 
 |        return izip(a, b) | 
 |  | 
 |    def grouper(iterable, n, fillvalue=None): | 
 |        "Collect data into fixed-length chunks or blocks" | 
 |        # grouper('ABCDEFG', 3, '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([1,2,3]) --> () (1,) (2,) (3,) (1,2) (1,3) (2,3) (1,2,3)" | 
 |        s = list(iterable) | 
 |        return chain.from_iterable(combinations(s, r) for r in range(len(s)+1)) | 
 |  | 
 |    def unique_everseen(iterable, key=None): | 
 |        "List unique elements, preserving order. Remember all elements ever seen." | 
 |        # unique_everseen('AAAABBBCCDAABBB') --> A B C D | 
 |        # unique_everseen('ABBCcAD', str.lower) --> A B C D | 
 |        seen = set() | 
 |        seen_add = seen.add | 
 |        if key is None: | 
 |            for element in ifilterfalse(seen.__contains__, iterable): | 
 |                seen_add(element) | 
 |                yield element | 
 |        else: | 
 |            for element in iterable: | 
 |                k = key(element) | 
 |                if k not in seen: | 
 |                    seen_add(k) | 
 |                    yield element | 
 |  | 
 |    def unique_justseen(iterable, key=None): | 
 |        "List unique elements, preserving order. Remember only the element just seen." | 
 |        # unique_justseen('AAAABBBCCDAABBB') --> A B C D A B | 
 |        # unique_justseen('ABBCcAD', str.lower) --> A B C A D | 
 |        return imap(next, imap(itemgetter(1), groupby(iterable, key))) | 
 |  | 
 |    def iter_except(func, exception, first=None): | 
 |        """ Call a function repeatedly until an exception is raised. | 
 |  | 
 |        Converts a call-until-exception interface to an iterator interface. | 
 |        Like __builtin__.iter(func, sentinel) but uses an exception instead | 
 |        of a sentinel to end the loop. | 
 |  | 
 |        Examples: | 
 |            bsddbiter = iter_except(db.next, bsddb.error, db.first) | 
 |            heapiter = iter_except(functools.partial(heappop, h), IndexError) | 
 |            dictiter = iter_except(d.popitem, KeyError) | 
 |            dequeiter = iter_except(d.popleft, IndexError) | 
 |            queueiter = iter_except(q.get_nowait, Queue.Empty) | 
 |            setiter = iter_except(s.pop, KeyError) | 
 |  | 
 |        """ | 
 |        try: | 
 |            if first is not None: | 
 |                yield first() | 
 |            while 1: | 
 |                yield func() | 
 |        except exception: | 
 |            pass | 
 |  | 
 |    def random_product(*args, **kwds): | 
 |        "Random selection from itertools.product(*args, **kwds)" | 
 |        pools = map(tuple, args) * kwds.get('repeat', 1) | 
 |        return tuple(random.choice(pool) for pool in pools) | 
 |  | 
 |    def random_permutation(iterable, r=None): | 
 |        "Random selection from itertools.permutations(iterable, r)" | 
 |        pool = tuple(iterable) | 
 |        r = len(pool) if r is None else r | 
 |        return tuple(random.sample(pool, r)) | 
 |  | 
 |    def random_combination(iterable, r): | 
 |        "Random selection from itertools.combinations(iterable, r)" | 
 |        pool = tuple(iterable) | 
 |        n = len(pool) | 
 |        indices = sorted(random.sample(xrange(n), r)) | 
 |        return tuple(pool[i] for i in indices) | 
 |  | 
 |    def random_combination_with_replacement(iterable, r): | 
 |        "Random selection from itertools.combinations_with_replacement(iterable, r)" | 
 |        pool = tuple(iterable) | 
 |        n = len(pool) | 
 |        indices = sorted(random.randrange(n) for i in xrange(r)) | 
 |        return tuple(pool[i] for i in indices) | 
 |  | 
 |    def tee_lookahead(t, i): | 
 |        """Inspect the i-th upcomping value from a tee object | 
 |           while leaving the tee object at its current position. | 
 |  | 
 |           Raise an IndexError if the underlying iterator doesn't | 
 |           have enough values. | 
 |  | 
 |        """ | 
 |        for value in islice(t.__copy__(), i, None): | 
 |            return value | 
 |        raise IndexError(i) | 
 |  | 
 | Note, many of the above recipes can be optimized by replacing global lookups | 
 | with local variables defined as default values.  For example, the | 
 | *dotproduct* recipe can be written as:: | 
 |  | 
 |    def dotproduct(vec1, vec2, sum=sum, imap=imap, mul=operator.mul): | 
 |        return sum(imap(mul, vec1, vec2)) |