Python predicate

last modified January 29, 2024

In this article we explain and use predicates in Python.

Predicate

Predicate in general meaning is a statement about something that is either true or false. In programming, predicates represent single argument functions that return a boolean value.

Predicate simple example

The following is a simple example using a predicate function.

simple.py

#!/usr/bin/python

def ispos(n): return n > 0

vals = [-3, 2, 7, 9, -1, 0, 2, 3, 1, -4, 6]

fres = filter(ispos, vals)

print(list(fres))

We have a list of values. Using the filter function, we filter out positive numbers.

def ispos(n): return n > 0

The ispos is a simple predicate, which returns true for all values that are greater than zero.

fres = filter(ispos, vals)

The filter function takes the predicate as its first argument. It returns an iterable of values that satisfy the condition.

print(list(fres))

We turn the iterable into a list with the list built-in function.

$ ./simple.py [2, 7, 9, 2, 3, 1, 6]

Anymomous predicate

Anonymous predicates can be created with lambda.

anon.py

#!/usr/bin/python

vals = [-3, 2, 7, 9, -1, 0, 2, 3, 1, -4, 6]

fres = filter(lambda e: e < 0, vals)

print(list(fres))

In the example, we filter out all elements that are negative using a lambda function.

$ ./anon.py [-3, -1, -4]

Python list comprehension predicate

A predicate can be used in a Python list comprehension.

list_com.py

#!/usr/bin/python

def is_vowel(c):

vowels = 'aeiou'

if c in vowels:
    return True
else:
    return False

sentence = ‘There are eagles in the sky.’

vowels = [c for c in sentence if is_vowel(c)] print(vowels)

The example filters out all vowels from a sentence.

def is_vowel(c):

vowels = 'aeiou'

if c in vowels:
    return True
else:
    return False

The function is a predicate. It returns True for a vowel character.

vowels = [c for c in sentence if is_vowel(c)]

The logic of the if condition is delegated to the is_vowel predicate.

$ ./list_com.py [’e’, ’e’, ‘a’, ’e’, ’e’, ‘a’, ’e’, ‘i’, ’e’]

Predicates with more_itertools

The external more_itertools module contains plenty of functions for working on iterables. Many of them accept predicates as arguments.

simple.py

#!/usr/bin/python

from more_itertools import locate

def pfn(n): return n > 0 and n % 2 == 0

vals = [-3, 2, 7, 9, -1, 0, 2, 3, 1, -4, 6]

idx = list(locate(vals, pfn))

vals2 = [vals[e] for e in idx]

print(vals2)

The example uses the locate function to find all values that satisfy the given condition; in our case, that are greater that zero and divisible by two.

idx = list(locate(vals, pfn))

We pass the values and the predicate function as parameters to the locate.

vals2 = [vals[e] for e in idx]

Since the function returns indexes, we turn them into values using a list comprehension.

$ ./locate.py [2, 2, 6]

Source

Functional Programming HOWTO

In this article we have used predicates in Python.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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