Confused with python lists: are they or are they not iterators?

Question

I am studying Alex Marteli\'s Python in a Nutshell and the book suggests that any object that has a next() method is (or at least can be used as) an ite

Answer 1

You need to convert list to an iterator first using iter():

In [7]: x = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

In [8]: it=iter(x)

In [9]: for i in range(10):
    it.next()
   ....:     
   ....:     
Out[10]: 0
Out[10]: 1
Out[10]: 2
Out[10]: 3
Out[10]: 4
Out[10]: 5
Out[10]: 6
Out[10]: 7
Out[10]: 8
Out[10]: 9

In [12]: 'next' in dir(it)
Out[12]: True

In [13]: 'next' in dir(x)
Out[13]: False

checking whether an object is iterator or not:

In [17]: isinstance(x,collections.Iterator)
Out[17]: False

In [18]: isinstance(x,collections.Iterable)
Out[18]: True

In [19]: isinstance(it,collections.Iterable) 
Out[19]: True

In [20]: isinstance(it,collections.Iterator)
Out[20]: True