enumerate vs while

[Patrick C]

Sorry for the simplicity of my questions, but is enumerate a way around using while loops

my while loop is this:

x = 1
>>> while x < len(rate):
... 	try:
... 		growth.append(rate[x])
... 		x += 3
... 	except IndexError:
... 		break
...

thanks

[bvdet]

Sorry for the simplicity of my questions, but is enumerate a way around using while loops

my while loop is this:

x = 1
>>> while x < len(rate):
... 	try:
... 		growth.append(rate[x])
... 		x += 3
... 	except IndexError:
... 		break
...

thanks

Use enumerate() when you need an index number and an item from an iterable:[code=Python]for i, item in enumerate(rates ):
if not (i-1) % 3:
growth.append(i tem)[/code]Another form using range():[code=Python]for i in range(1, len(rates), 3):
growth.append(r ates[i])[/code]

[ghostdog74]

Sorry for the simplicity of my questions, but is enumerate a way around using while loops

my while loop is this:

x = 1
>>> while x < len(rate):
... 	try:
... 		growth.append(rate[x])
... 		x += 3
... 	except IndexError:
... 		break
...

thanks

a better way to create a while loop (IMO) is using infinity loop.
eg

while 1:
    #statements...
    if some condition:
        break
    if another condition:
        break

this way, you can customize your loop according to different conditions, whereas in your example, you can only exit while loop on x>len(rate).
and as to your question, enumerate() works on iterable objects, ie range(), open files, etc.. see here.

[bartonc]

a better way to create a while loop (IMO) is using infinity loop.
eg

while 1:
    #statements...
    if some condition:
        break
    if another condition:
        break

this way, you can customize your loop according to different conditions, whereas in your example, you can only exit while loop on x>len(rate).
<snip>

I also like the infinite loop implementation and use enumerate() often. That said: Lest our readers get the wrong impression:[CODE=python]while x < len(rate):
#statements...
if some condition:
break
if another condition:
break
[/code]is also valid.