Understanding generators in Python

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I am reading the Python cookbook at the moment and am currently looking at generators. I'm finding it hard to get my head round.

As I come from a Java background, is there a Java equivalent? The book was speaking about 'Producer / Consumer', however when I hear that I think of threading.What is a generator and why would you use it?
Oct 26, 2018 in Python by ana1504.k
• 7,870 points

1 answer to this question.

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A generator is simply a function which returns an object on which you can call next, such that for every call it returns some value, until it raises a StopIteration exception, signaling that all values have been generated. Such an object is called an iterator.

Normal functions return a single value using return, just like in Java. In Python, however, there is an alternative, called yield. Using yield anywhere in a function makes it a generator. Observe this code:

>>> def myGen(n):
...     yield n
...     yield n + 1
>>> g = myGen(6)
>>> next(g)
>>> next(g)
>>> next(g)
Traceback (most recent call last):
As you can see, myGen(n) is a function which yields n and n + 1. Every call to next yields a single value, until all values have been yielded. for loops call next in the background.
answered Oct 26, 2018 by SDeb
• 13,160 points

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