What exactly are iterator, iterable, and iteration?

Question

What is the most basic definition of \"iterable\", \"iterator\" and \"iteration\" in Python?

I have read multiple definitions but I am unable to identify the exact m

Answer 1

The above answers are great, but as most of what I've seen, don't stress the distinction enough for people like me.

Also, people tend to get "too Pythonic" by putting definitions like "X is an object that has __foo__() method" before. Such definitions are correct--they are based on duck-typing philosophy, but the focus on methods tends to get between when trying to understand the concept in its simplicity.

So I add my version.

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In natural language,

• iteration is the process of taking one element at a time in a row of elements.

In Python,

• iterable is an object that is, well, iterable, which simply put, means that it can be used in iteration, e.g. with a for loop. How? By using iterator. I'll explain below.

• ... while iterator is an object that defines how to actually do the iteration--specifically what is the next element. That's why it must have next() method.

Iterators are themselves also iterable, with the distinction that their __iter__() method returns the same object (self), regardless of whether or not its items have been consumed by previous calls to next().

---

So what does Python interpreter think when it sees for x in obj: statement?

Look, a for loop. Looks like a job for an iterator... Let's get one. ... There's this obj guy, so let's ask him.

"Mr. obj, do you have your iterator?" (... calls iter(obj), which calls obj.__iter__(), which happily hands out a shiny new iterator _i.)

OK, that was easy... Let's start iterating then. (x = _i.next() ... x = _i.next()...)

Since Mr. obj succeeded in this test (by having certain method returning a valid iterator), we reward him with adjective: you can now call him "iterable Mr. obj".

However, in simple cases, you don't normally benefit from having iterator and iterable separately. So you define only one object, which is also its own iterator. (Python does not really care that _i handed out by obj wasn't all that shiny, but just the obj itself.)

This is why in most examples I've seen (and what had been confusing me over and over), you can see:

class IterableExample(object):

    def __iter__(self):
        return self

    def next(self):
        pass

instead of

class Iterator(object):
    def next(self):
        pass

class Iterable(object):
    def __iter__(self):
        return Iterator()

There are cases, though, when you can benefit from having iterator separated from the iterable, such as when you want to have one row of items, but more "cursors". For example when you want to work with "current" and "forthcoming" elements, you can have separate iterators for both. Or multiple threads pulling from a huge list: each can have its own iterator to traverse over all items. See @Raymond's and @glglgl's answers above.

Imagine what you could do:

class SmartIterableExample(object):

    def create_iterator(self):
        # An amazingly powerful yet simple way to create arbitrary
        # iterator, utilizing object state (or not, if you are fan
        # of functional), magic and nuclear waste--no kittens hurt.
        pass    # don't forget to add the next() method

    def __iter__(self):
        return self.create_iterator()

Notes:

• I'll repeat again: iterator is not iterable. Iterator cannot be used as a "source" in for loop. What for loop primarily needs is __iter__() (that returns something with next()).

• Of course, for is not the only iteration loop, so above applies to some other constructs as well (while...).

• Iterator's next() can throw StopIteration to stop iteration. Does not have to, though, it can iterate forever or use other means.

• In the above "thought process", _i does not really exist. I've made up that name.

• There's a small change in Python 3.x: next() method (not the built-in) now must be called __next__(). Yes, it should have been like that all along.

• You can also think of it like this: iterable has the data, iterator pulls the next item

Disclaimer: I'm not a developer of any Python interpreter, so I don't really know what the interpreter "thinks". The musings above are solely demonstration of how I understand the topic from other explanations, experiments and real-life experience of a Python newbie.