python-future/docs/custom_iterators.rst

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.. _custom-iterators:
Custom iterators
----------------
If you define your own iterators, there is an incompatibility in the method name
to retrieve the next item across Py3 and Py2. On Python 3 it is ``__next__``,
whereas on Python 2 it is ``next``.
The most elegant solution to this is to derive your custom iterator class from
``builtins.object`` and define a ``__next__`` method as you normally
would on Python 3. On Python 2, ``object`` then refers to the
``future.types.newobject`` base class, which provides a fallback ``next``
method that calls your ``__next__``. Use it as follows::
from builtins import object
class Upper(object):
def __init__(self, iterable):
self._iter = iter(iterable)
def __next__(self): # Py3-style iterator interface
return next(self._iter).upper()
def __iter__(self):
return self
itr = Upper('hello')
assert next(itr) == 'H'
assert next(itr) == 'E'
assert list(itr) == list('LLO')
You can use this approach unless you are defining a custom iterator as a
subclass of a base class defined elsewhere that does not derive from
``newobject``. In that case, you can provide compatibility across
Python 2 and Python 3 using the ``next`` function from ``future.builtins``::
from builtins import next
from some_module import some_base_class
class Upper2(some_base_class):
def __init__(self, iterable):
self._iter = iter(iterable)
def __next__(self): # Py3-style iterator interface
return next(self._iter).upper()
def __iter__(self):
return self
itr2 = Upper2('hello')
assert next(itr2) == 'H'
assert next(itr2) == 'E'
``next()`` also works with regular Python 2 iterators with a ``.next`` method::
itr3 = iter(['one', 'three', 'five'])
assert 'next' in dir(itr3)
assert next(itr3) == 'one'
This approach is feasible whenever your code calls the ``next()`` function
explicitly. If you consume the iterator implicitly in a ``for`` loop or
``list()`` call or by some other means, the ``future.builtins.next`` function
will not help; the third assertion below would fail on Python 2::
itr2 = Upper2('hello')
assert next(itr2) == 'H'
assert next(itr2) == 'E'
assert list(itr2) == list('LLO') # fails because Py2 implicitly looks
# for a ``next`` method.
Instead, you can use a decorator called ``implements_iterator`` from
``future.utils`` to allow Py3-style iterators to work identically on Py2, even
if they don't inherit from ``future.builtins.object``. Use it as follows::
from future.utils import implements_iterator
Upper2 = implements_iterator(Upper2)
print(list(Upper2('hello')))
# prints ['H', 'E', 'L', 'L', 'O']
This can of course also be used with the ``@`` decorator syntax when defining
the iterator as follows::
@implements_iterator
class Upper2(some_base_class):
def __init__(self, iterable):
self._iter = iter(iterable)
def __next__(self): # note the Py3 interface
return next(self._iter).upper()
def __iter__(self):
return self
On Python 3, as usual, this decorator does nothing.