[Python-Dev] a feature i'd like to see in python #1: better iteration control

[Ben Wing]

many times writing somewhat complex loops over lists i've found the need
to sometimes delete an item from the list.  currently there's no easy
way to do so; basically, you have to write something like

i = 0
while i < len(list):
  el =  list[i]
  ...do something...
  if el should be deleted:
    del list[i]
  else:
    i += 1

note that you can't write

for x in list:

or even

for i in xrange(len(list)):

note also that you need to do some trickiness to adjust the index
appropriately when deleting.

i'd much rather see something like:

for x:iter in list:
  ...do something...
  if x should be deleted:
    iter.delete()

the idea is that you have a way of retrieving both the element itself
and the iterator for the element, so that you can then call methods on
the iterator.  it shouldn't be too hard to implement iter.delete(), as 
well as iter.insert() and similar functions. (the recent changes to the 
generator protocol in 2.5 might help.)

the only question then is how to access the iterator.  the syntax i've 
proposed, with `x:iter', seems fairly logical (note that parallels with 
slice notation, which also uses a colon) and doesn't introduce any new 
operators. (comma is impossible since `for x,iter in list:' already has 
a meaning)

btw someone is probably going to come out and say "why don't you just 
use a list comprehension with an `if' clause?  the problems are [1] i'd
like this to be destructive; [2] i'd like this to work over non-lists
as well, e.g. hash-tables; [3] list comprehensions work well in simple
cases, but in more complicated cases when you may be doing various 
things on each step, and might not know whether you need to delete or 
insert an element until after you've done various other things, a list 
comprehension would not fit naturally; [4] this mechanism is extendible 
to insertions, replacements and other such changes as well as just 
filterings.

ben