Syntax Question - list multiplication

[Pablo Torres]

Hi guys!

I am working on Conway's Game of Life right now and I've run into a
little problem.
I represent dead cells with 0s and live ones with 1s. Check this out:

>>grid = [[0] * 3] * 3
grid

[[0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]

>>grid[0][0] = 1

[[1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0]]

Now, that's not what I want. I just want the first element of the
first sublist to be a 1, not the first of every one. Here's what I
tried and didn't work:

0. grid = [[0] * 3][:] * 3 then the same grid[0][0] = 1 statement
1. grid = [[0][:] * 3] * 3 followed by the same assignment
2. (grid[0])[0] = 1 with the original initialization of the grid

So, that means that it isn't a problem with two different variables
refering to the same list (0. and 1. prove that). What I don't
understand is why 2. doesn't work either. I'm baby-feeding my
instructions to Python and the mistake is still there. Any ideas?

Hope you can help. Thanks in advance,

Pablo

[MC]

Classic

--
@-salutations

Michel Claveau

[Thomas Jollans]

On Sunday 19 August 2007, Pablo Torres wrote:

Hi guys!

I am working on Conway's Game of Life right now and I've run into a
little problem.

I represent dead cells with 0s and live ones with 1s. Check this out:
>>grid = [[0] * 3] * 3
>>grid

[[0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]

>>grid[0][0] = 1

[[1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0]]

Now, that's not what I want. I just want the first element of the
first sublist to be a 1, not the first of every one. Here's what I
tried and didn't work:

0. grid = [[0] * 3][:] * 3 then the same grid[0][0] = 1 statement
1. grid = [[0][:] * 3] * 3 followed by the same assignment
2. (grid[0])[0] = 1 with the original initialization of the grid

So, that means that it isn't a problem with two different variables
refering to the same list (0. and 1. prove that). What I don't
understand is why 2. doesn't work either. I'm baby-feeding my
instructions to Python and the mistake is still there. Any ideas?

If you want three copies of the list, you need to copy it thrice (well, twice)

Thus:

>>row = [0] * 3
grid = []
for n in xrange(3): grid.append(row[:])

...

>>grid

[[0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]

>>grid[0][0] =1
grid

[[1, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]

>>>

--
Regards, Thomas Jollans
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[Roel Schroeven]

Pablo Torres schreef:

Hi guys!

I am working on Conway's Game of Life right now and I've run into a
little problem.
I represent dead cells with 0s and live ones with 1s. Check this out:

>>grid = [[0] * 3] * 3
>>grid
[[0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]
>>grid[0][0] = 1
[[1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0]]

Now, that's not what I want. I just want the first element of the
first sublist to be a 1, not the first of every one. Here's what I
tried and didn't work:

0. grid = [[0] * 3][:] * 3 then the same grid[0][0] = 1 statement
1. grid = [[0][:] * 3] * 3 followed by the same assignment
2. (grid[0])[0] = 1 with the original initialization of the grid

So, that means that it isn't a problem with two different variables
refering to the same list (0. and 1. prove that). What I don't
understand is why 2. doesn't work either. I'm baby-feeding my
instructions to Python and the mistake is still there. Any ideas?

Hope you can help. Thanks in advance,

The multiplication operator doesn't make new copies; all elements
reference the same object, as you can see with id():

>>lst = [0] * 3
lst

[0, 0, 0]

>>id(lst[0]), id(lst[1]), id(lst[2])

(9788716, 9788716, 9788716)

As a consequence, if you modify one element, you change them all (since
it's all the same object). Solution: make sure to create independent lists.

>>grid = [[0] * 3 for i in range(3)]
grid

[[0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]

>>grid[0][0] = 1

--
If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood
on the shoulders of giants. -- Isaac Newton

Roel Schroeven

[Pablo Torres]

Thanks everyone. Now I see why every row in my grid were actually the
same object.

Pablo

[Duncan Smith]

Roel Schroeven wrote:

Pablo Torres schreef:

>Hi guys!

I am working on Conway's Game of Life right now and I've run into a
little problem.
I represent dead cells with 0s and live ones with 1s. Check this out:

> >>grid = [[0] * 3] * 3
>>grid

[[0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]

> >>grid[0][0] = 1

[[1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0], [1, 0, 0]]

Now, that's not what I want. I just want the first element of the
first sublist to be a 1, not the first of every one. Here's what I
tried and didn't work:

0. grid = [[0] * 3][:] * 3 then the same grid[0][0] = 1 statement
1. grid = [[0][:] * 3] * 3 followed by the same assignment
2. (grid[0])[0] = 1 with the original initialization of the grid

So, that means that it isn't a problem with two different variables
refering to the same list (0. and 1. prove that). What I don't
understand is why 2. doesn't work either. I'm baby-feeding my
instructions to Python and the mistake is still there. Any ideas?

Hope you can help. Thanks in advance,

The multiplication operator doesn't make new copies; all elements
reference the same object, as you can see with id():

>>>lst = [0] * 3
lst

[0, 0, 0]

>>>id(lst[0]), id(lst[1]), id(lst[2])

(9788716, 9788716, 9788716)

I think you probably meant something like,

>>lst = [[0] * 3] * 3
lst

[[0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0]]

>>id(lst[0]), id(lst[1]), id(lst[2])

(15937704, 15937704, 15937704)

>>>

i.e. a list of mutable types where the difference between multiple
objects and multiple references to the same object will be apparent.
With small integers you're likely to find you have multiple references
to the same integer objects however the list is constructed.

Duncan