🔒 How can i make lists appear horizontally aligned?

[kind mulch]

I wrote this code with a couple of nested for loops, following instructions from the book im learning from "automate the boring stuff with python" and my output is vertical and not horizontally alligned:

#write a function that takes a list of lists of strings, and displays them in a well organized table with each
#column right justified. Assume the lists in list have the same number of items. (redundant?)

tableData = [['apples', 'oranges', 'cherries', 'banana'],
['Alice', 'Bob', 'Carol', 'David'],
['dogs', 'cats', 'moose', 'goose']]

def printTable(data):

#This is just for finding the longest lengths in the thing.

arrayOfLengths = [0]
length = 0
for list in data:
    for words in list:
        counter = 0
        if length < len(words):
            length = len(words)
            arrayOfLengths.insert(counter, length)
        
        counter += 1
    
#now to actually print the list
for list in data:
    for words in list:
        positionInIndex = 0
        print(words.rjust( arrayOfLengths[positionInIndex]))
        positionInIndex += 1

    print()

printTable(tableData)

Also if you have any tips on how to make the program more efficient please do share!
Thank you!
ora1000x

[dull wren]

@kind mulch

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[ripe roost]

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[dull wren]

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[crystal raptor]

I can see use for zip, max, len, and the string formatting minilang. https://docs.python.org/3/library/string.html#format-specification-mini-language

[vagrant void]

OP's post fixed:
I wrote this code with a couple of nested for loops, following instructions from the book im learning from "automate the boring stuff with python" and my output is vertical and not horizontally alligned:

#write a function that takes a list of lists of strings, and displays them in a well organized table with each
#column right justified. Assume the lists in list have the same number of items. (redundant?)

tableData = [['apples', 'oranges', 'cherries', 'banana'],
['Alice', 'Bob', 'Carol', 'David'],
['dogs', 'cats', 'moose', 'goose']]

def printTable(data):
    
    #This is just for finding the longest lengths in the thing.

    arrayOfLengths = [0]
    length = 0
    for list in data:
        for words in list:
            counter = 0
            if length < len(words):
                length = len(words)
                arrayOfLengths.insert(counter, length)
            
            counter += 1
        
    #now to actually print the list
    for list in data:
        for words in list:
            positionInIndex = 0
            print(words.rjust( arrayOfLengths[positionInIndex]))
            positionInIndex += 1

        print()

printTable(tableData)

Also if you have any tips on how to make the program more efficient please do share!
Thank you!
ora1000x

@kind mulch you can actually use str.ljust or str.rjust to make it, don't know if your book suggests that but thats built in to the string class.

rjust is probably proper for your case since you want to right justify it

[kind mulch]

whats the difference between str.rjust() and rjust(), also how would i call str.just()?

[ripe roost]

you're already calling it? words.rjust()

str.rjust() just means the rjust method of the str type

also clobbering built-in names is bad practice (for list in data:)

[kind mulch]

Ohhh, i see what @vagrant void meant now, but i wanted to do it relative to the positionInIndex var i created, when i remove the posinIndex var and try running rjust() alone it gives me the memory address

[sick shell]

You're printing the function itself. Essentially you're doing:

def f() -> int:
    return 4

print(f)  # <-- you're doing this. This will print "information" about the function object itself
print(f())  # <-- this will evaluate the function and print "information" about whatever is returned by this function.

Note that the return value of a function can be another function, e.g.:

def f() -> int:
    return 4

def g():
    return f

print(f)  # prints "information" about f
print(g)  # prints "information" about g
print(f())  # prints "information" about the return value of f, i.e. '4'
print(g())  # prints "information" about the return value of g, i.e. "information" about f
print(g()())  # prints "information" about the return value of the return value of g, which is the return value of f, which is '4'

This behaviour, by extension, will also lead us to decorators, e.g.:

def memoize(func):
    memory: dict = {}
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        key = f"{args}{kwargs}"
        if key not in memory:
            memory[key] = func(*args, **kwargs)

        return memory[key]

    return wrapper


@memoize
def fib(n: int) -> int:
    if n < 2:
        return n

    return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)


print(fib(5))
print(fib(100))  # with the @memoize it calculates instantly, without it...

But that may be a bit too much for now

[dull wren]

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