[Python-checkins] r68715 - peps/trunk/pep-3142.txt

[georg.brandl]

Author: georg.brandl
Date: Sun Jan 18 11:28:20 2009
New Revision: 68715

Log:
Add PEP 3142.


Added:
   peps/trunk/pep-3142.txt   (contents, props changed)

Added: peps/trunk/pep-3142.txt
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+PEP: 3142
+Title: Add a "while" clause to generator expressions
+Version: $Revision$
+Last-Modified: $Date$
+Author: Gerald Britton <gerald.britton at gmail.com>
+Status: Draft
+Type: Standards Track
+Content-Type: text/plain
+Created: 12-Jan-2009
+Python-Version: 3.0
+Post-History:
+
+
+Abstract
+
+   This PEP proposes an enhancement to generator expressions, adding a
+   "while" clause to complement the existing "if" clause.
+
+
+Rationale
+
+   A generator expression (PEP 289 [1]) is a concise method to serve
+   dynamically-generated objects to list comprehensions (PEP 202 [2]).
+   Current generator expressions allow for an "if" clause to filter
+   the objects that are returned to those meeting some set of
+   criteria.  However, since the "if" clause is evaluated for every
+   object that may be returned, in some cases it is possible that all
+   objects would be rejected after a certain point.  For example:
+
+       g = (n for n in range(100) if n*n < 50)
+
+   which is equivalent to the using a generator function
+   (PEP 255 [3]):
+
+       def __gen(exp):
+           for n in exp:
+               if n*n < 50:
+                   yield n
+       g = __gen(iter(range(10)))
+
+   would yield 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, but would also consider
+   the numbers from 8 to 99 and reject them all since n*n >= 50 for
+   numbers in that range.  Allowing for a "while" clause would allow
+   the redundant tests to be short-circuited:
+
+       g = (n for n in range(100) while n*n < 50)
+
+   would also yield 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, but would stop at 8
+   since the condition (n*n < 50) is no longer true.  This would be
+   equivalent to the generator function:
+
+       def __gen(exp):
+           for n in exp:
+               if n*n < 50:
+                   yield n
+               else:
+                   break
+       g = __gen(iter(range(100)))
+
+   Currently, in order to achieve the same result, one would need to
+   either write a generator function such as the one above or use the
+   takewhile function from itertools:
+
+       from itertools import takewhile
+       g = takewhile(lambda n: n*n < 50, range(100))
+
+   The takewhile code achieves the same result as the proposed syntax,
+   albeit in a longer (some would say "less-elegant") fashion.  Also,
+   the takewhile version requires an extra function call (the lambda
+   in the example above) with the associated performance penalty.
+   A simple test shows that:
+
+       for n in (n for n in range(100) if 1): pass
+
+   performs about 10% better than:
+
+       for n in takewhile(lambda n: 1, range(100)): pass
+
+   though they achieve similar results.  (The first example uses a
+   generator; takewhile is an iterator).  If similarly implemented,
+   a "while" clause should perform about the same as the "if" clause
+   does today.
+
+   The reader may ask if the "if" and "while" clauses should be
+   mutually exclusive.  There are good examples that show that there
+   are times when both may be used to good advantage. For example:
+
+       p = (p for p in primes() if p > 100 while p < 1000)
+
+   should return prime numbers found between 100 and 1000, assuming
+   I have a primes() generator that yields prime numbers.
+
+   Adding a "while" clause to generator expressions maintains the
+   compact form while adding a useful facility for short-circuiting
+   the expression.
+
+
+Acknowledgements
+
+   Raymond Hettinger first proposed the concept of generator
+   expressions in January 2002.
+
+
+References
+
+   [1] PEP 289: Generator Expressions
+       http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0289/
+
+   [2] PEP 202: List Comprehensions
+       http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0202/
+
+   [3] PEP 255: Simple Generators
+       http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0255/
+
+
+Copyright
+
+   This document has been placed in the public domain.
+
+
+Local Variables:
+mode: indented-text
+indent-tabs-mode: nil
+sentence-end-double-space: t
+fill-column: 70
+coding: utf-8
+End: