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pythonpython-2.7python-itertools

itertools.repeat VS itertools.cycle

Is there any difference between itertools.repeat(n) and itertools.cycle(n)? As it seems, they produce the same output. Is one more efficient to use in a situation where I need an infinite loop of some element?

Solution

  • Simply, itertools.repeat will repeat the given argument, and itertools.cycle will cycle over the given argument. Don't run this code, but for example:

    from itertools import repeat, cycle

for i in repeat('abcd'): print(i)
# abcd, abcd, abcd, abcd, ...

for i in cycle('abcd'): print(i)
# a, b, c, d, a, b, c, d, ...