Python list overlapping

Question

How would you go about overlapping lists, without the boring and time consuming for-loops?

Functionality:

l1=[1,2,3]
l2=['a','b','c']
overlap(l1,l2) #[(1,'a'),(2,'b'),(3,'c')]
overlap(l2,l1) #[('a',1),('b',2),('c',3)]

Strange use of the word "overlapping". – Hyperboreus Dec 07 '13 at 09:20 — Hyperboreus, Dec 07 '13 at 09:20
The correct term is "interleaving" in case you wonder. – georg Dec 07 '13 at 12:03 — georg, Dec 07 '13 at 12:03

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 07 '13 at 09:20

7

Use the built-in zip function:

>>> zip(l1,l2)
[(1,'a'),(2,'b'),(3,'c')]

>>> zip(l2,l1)
[('a', 1), ('b', 2), ('c', 3)]

answered Dec 07 '13 at 09:20

K DawG

1 Answers1