Python generators are pluggable

By Vasudev Ram

Generator image attribution

While working on a Python project, it crossed my mind that generators could be of use in it. A little research made me realize that generators are pluggable, i.e. they can be passed to functions, and then be used within those functions. This is because generators are a kind of Python object, and any Python object can be passed as an argument to a function.

This in turn is because almost everything in Python is an object (including generators), similar to how almost everything in Unix is a file. Both those concepts can enable some powerful operations.

Here is a program that demonstrates passing generator objects as arguments to another function, and then using those generators inside it:

# Program to show that generators are pluggable, i.e.,
# can be passed as function arguments, and then used 
# inside those functions to which they are passed.
# Author: Vasudev Ram - http://jugad2.blogspot.com
# Copyright 2016 Vasudev Ram

def gen_squares(fro, to):
    '''A generator function that returns a generator 
    that returns squares of values in a range.'''
    for val in range(fro, to + 1):
        yield val * val

def gen_cubes(fro, to):
    '''A generator function that returns a generator 
    that returns cubes of values in a range.'''
    for val in range(fro, to + 1):
        yield val * val * val

def use(gen):
    print "In use() function:"
    print "Using:", gen
    print "Items:",
    for item in gen:
        print item,
    print

print "Pluggable Python generators.\n"
print "In main module:"
print "type(use): ", type(use)
print "use:", use
print
print "type(gen_squares): ", type(gen_squares)
print "gen_squares: ", gen_squares
print "type(gen_squares(1, 5)): ", type(gen_squares(1, 5))
print "gen_squares(1, 5): ", gen_squares(1, 5)
print
print "type(gen_cubes): ", type(gen_cubes)
print "gen_cubes: ", gen_cubes
print "type(gen_cubes(1, 5)): ", type(gen_cubes(1, 5))
print "gen_cubes(1, 5): ", gen_cubes(1, 5)
print
for gen_obj in (gen_squares(1, 5), gen_cubes(1, 5)):
    use(gen_obj)
    print

Run the program with:

python pluggable_generators.py

Here is the output:

Pluggable Python generators.

In main module:
type(use):  <type 'function'>
use: <function use at 0x0202C3B0>

type(gen_squares):  <type 'function'>
gen_squares:  <function gen_squares at 0x0207BF30>
type(gen_squares(1, 5)):  <type 'generator'>
gen_squares(1, 5):  <generator object gen_squares at 0x020869B8>

type(gen_cubes):  <type 'function'>
gen_cubes:  <function gen_cubes at 0x0207BFB0>
type(gen_cubes(1, 5)):  <type 'generator'>
gen_cubes(1, 5):  <generator object gen_cubes at 0x020869B8>

In use() function:
Using: <generator object gen_squares at 0x020869B8>
Items: 1 4 9 16 25

In use() function:
Using: <generator object gen_cubes at 0x020869E0>
Items: 1 8 27 64 125

As you can see, I've printed both type(obj) and obj for many of the objects shown, to make it more clear what is going on. Also, a generator function and a generator object (the result of calling a generator function), are two different things, so they are printed separately as well.

A few points about generators and their use:

They can potentially lead to less memory usage, since values are only generated on demand, i.e. evaluation is lazy.

They can help with separation of concerns, a key technique that leads to program modularity; the code for the actual generator functions like gen_squares and gen_cubes does not have to be embedded in the use() function, which makes both the generators and the use() function more reusable.

Someone could say here that we could write gen_squares and gen_cubes as regular functions instead of as generator functions, and then just call them from use(), so their code still does not have to be embedded in the use() function, and that would be right. But in that case, the calls to them would return lists, and if the lists were very large, that would use a lot of memory, and maybe crash or slow down the program. Those issues will not happen with generators, though, because each item is generated just before it is used, and then it is thrown away, not stored. So the memory needed is not proportional to the number of items generated.

Here are some links about Python generators:

Generators - Python Wiki

Stack Overflow - Understanding generators in Python

The image at the top of the post is a Ferranti two-phase AC generator set.

- Vasudev Ram - Online Python training and programming

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