My .remove() isn't removing all the numbers from the list even though I'm passing it through an iterator. I can't seem to find the issue

Question

def thirdMax(nums):

    highest = max(nums)

    for i in nums:
        if i == highest:
            nums.remove(i)
    print(nums)

    secondHighest = max(nums)

    for i in nums:
        if i == secondHighest:
            nums.remove(i)

    thirdHighest = max(nums)

    return thirdHighest

thirdMax([1,2,3,3,3,3,3,3,4,4,4,4,4,4,4])

My code is supposed to return the third highest distinct number. My code isn't seeming to work accordingly.

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 26 '19 at 08:05

0

Sort the list (to make sure). Convert to a set. Convert back to a list and take the 3rd from the right.

l = [1,2,3,3,3,3,3,3,4,4,4,4,4,4,4]
l.sort()
s = set(l)
l = list(s)
third = l[-3]

You can combine some of these steps, but I wrote them all out for clarity :)

answered Oct 26 '19 at 08:05

michjnich

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Oh that's a much easier way to go about it. But why wasn't my iteration removal method working? – Raunak Anand Oct 26 '19 at 20:06
Because remove only removed the first instance of the value it finds. In your case the 2 removed will reach remove a 4, leaving 4 as the highest number still. – michjnich Oct 26 '19 at 20:15

My .remove() isn't removing all the numbers from the list even though I'm passing it through an iterator. I can't seem to find the issue

1 Answers1