Python yield Keyword
Used to return a generator from a function.
Example
Python
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def get_generator(): i = 0 while i < 10: yield i i = i + 1
The code above will return a generator, which we can use as follows
Python
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gen = get_generator() for value in gen: print(value)
Output
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Notes
An iterator is an object that contains a set of items that can be iterated over.
A generator is an iterator that can be traversed once only. A generator doesn't have all the values stored in memory - it generates each value on the fly (this is what the yield keyword is doing: sending back each value one by one)
It's important to understand that a generator function is not run until the generator that it returns is actually iterated.
Python
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# get_generator returns a generator, but no code has actually been run. gen = get_generator() # By using the generator, we will now actually call the generator function for x in gen: # With each loop, the yield keyword in the generator function will # return a new value until the generator function ends print(x)