Effective Python: 90 Specific Ways to Write Better Python, 2nd Edition

4. Comprehensions and Generators

Many programs are built around processing lists, dictionary key/value pairs, and sets. Python provides a special syntax, called comprehensions, for succinctly iterating through these types and creating derivative data structures. Comprehensions can significantly increase the readability of code performing these common tasks and provide a number of other benefits.

This style of processing is extended to functions with generators, which enable a stream of values to be incrementally returned by a function. The result of a call to a generator function can be used anywhere an iterator is appropriate (e.g., for loops, starred expressions). Generators can improve performance, reduce memory usage, and increase readability. ...