Python - Sequence not equal, but it is what I am expecting

Question

def parse(self, input):
    input = input.replace("\n", "").replace(" ", "")
    bits = input.split("=>")
    return bits[:-1]

Given "a => \nb => \nc=> " the output in the console is ["a", "b", "c"] which is exactly what I want. I guess the console must be formatting the output, but I cannot explain why my tests are failing.

My unit test fails, stating that the result is [["a", "b", "c"]] when I perform assertEqual using unittest.

Can anyone explain? I'm pretty new to Python in the sense I've not touched it for a few years, and even then it was pretty limited experience.

Test code

subject = InputParser()
self.assertEqual(subject.parse("a =>\nb => "), ["a", "b"])

Cheers

Answer 1

I just tested this using the module below, and my test passes just fine:

import unittest

class InputParser:
    def parse(self, input):
        input = input.replace("\n", "").replace(" ", "")
        bits = input.split("=>")
        return bits[:-1]

class InputParserTest ( unittest.TestCase ):
    def test_parse ( self ):
        subject = InputParser()
        self.assertEqual(subject.parse("a =>\nb => "), ["a", "b"])

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()