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Alex Tread
Alex Tread

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Python's secret weapon: generators

Python generators are powerful, but an often underutilized tool.

By definition, a generator is a function that returns an iterable object.

In other words, it's a function that can be used to create a list, but instead of returning all the values at once, it yields them one at a time.

This may not sound very exciting, but generators can be extremely helpful in a number of situations.

For example, let's say you have a large list of objects that you need to process in some way.

If you were to process the entire list at once, it would take up a lot of memory and could potentially slow down your program.

However, if you were to use a generator, you could process the objects one at a time, which would be much more efficient.
In addition, generators can be used to create infinite sequences.

This is extremely useful in situations where you need to generate a lot of data, but don't want to store it all in memory.

For instance, you could use a generator to generate a stream of random numbers.

Generators are a very versatile tool that every Python programmer should be familiar with.

So next time you find yourself needing to process a large amount of data or generate an infinite sequence, don't forget to reach for a generator!

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