list*list

[Diez B. Roggisch]

> There must be a better way to multiply the elements of one list by
> another:
> 
> a = [1,2,3]
> b = [1,2,3]
> c = []
> for i in range(len(a)):
> c.append(a[i]*b[i])
> a = c
> print a
> [1, 4, 9]
> 
> Perhaps a list comprehension or is this better addressed by NumPy?


First of all: it's considered bad style to use range if all you want is a
enumeration of indices, as it will actually create a list of the size you
specified. Use xrange in such cases. 

You can use a listcomp like this:

c = [a[i] * b[i] for i in xrange(len(a))]

But maybe nicer is zip:

c = [av * bv for av, bv in zip(a, b)]

And if lists get large and perhaps multidemnsional, numpy certainly is the
way to go.

Diez