Python - match a word in a string with a list of strings

Question

I\'m new to python and I was wondering how string comparison is done

Let\'s say I have a list of strings containing state names like

states = [\"New York         


        

Answer 1

Here's another alternative answer using a regexp:

import re

states = ["New York", "California", "Nebraska", "Idaho"]
pattern = re.compile(r'.*(' + r'|'.join(states) + ').*')

postal_addr = "1234 1st E St San Jose California 95112"
match = pattern.match(postal_addr)

if match:
    state = match.group(1)