Indexing a list with another list in Python allows you to retrieve multiple elements from the original list based on the indices specified in the second list. Here’s how it works conceptually:
1. Basic Concept
- You have two lists:
- Source List: The list you want to extract elements from.
- Index List: A list of integers representing the indices to retrieve.
- For each integer in the index list, retrieve the element at that position in the source list.
2. Steps to Index a List with Another List
- Iterate over the index list.
- For each index, retrieve the corresponding element from the source list.
- Collect the results in a new list.
Example Workflow Without Code:
Imagine you have:
- A source list:
[10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
. - An index list:
[1, 3]
.
You would:
- Look at the first index (
1
) and retrieve the second element (20
). - Look at the second index (
3
) and retrieve the fourth element (40
). - Combine the results into a new list:
[20, 40]
.
This process can be implemented directly or using list comprehensions for simplicity.