Fastest way to check if a value exists in a list
The fastest way to check if a value exists in a list is to use the in
operator. For example, if you have a list my_list
and you want to check if the value x
exists in it, you can simply use the following code:
if x in my_list:
print("x exists in my_list")
else:
print("x does not exist in my_list")
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Another way to check if a value exists in a list is to use the any()
function along with a generator expression. For example, the following code will also check if x
exists in my_list
:
if any(x == item for item in my_list):
print("x exists in my_list")
else:
print("x does not exist in my_list")
This method is slightly less efficient than using the in
operator but is more flexible, you can use any comparison function instead of ==
and can be useful if you have a more complex comparision to make.