How can I check if two lists are equal to one another on python

Question

I'm developing a code breaker game where the user is given a coded list and the user has to guess what letter each symbol represents. When the user thinks he has replaced all of the symbols with the correct letters he/she would then type 'check'. What I want my check function to do, is to compare the users list with a separate list with the correct answers but I am stuck on how to do so.

Um... have you tried the equality operator? list1 == list2 — Lix
– Lix, Commented Sep 12, 2014 at 8:45
No I'm quite new to python what exactly does it do and how would I use it — shift
– shift, Commented Sep 12, 2014 at 8:47
This is not a python specific feature - it is a general programming operator that should exist in most (if not all) languages. Perhaps you should go back and run through some python tutorials to get a better foundation. — Lix
– Lix, Commented Sep 12, 2014 at 8:48
There is absolutely no way you'll be able to get anywhere near a working game without understanding basic comparison operators. — Lix
– Lix, Commented Sep 12, 2014 at 8:48
A problem here is that obviously your user will enter their attempt at the code using input() or raw_input() this returns a string and not a list so if you did list1 == users_list it wouldn't work as one is a list, one is a string. You could get around this by getting the user to enter their numbers 1 by 1 and appending them to their list, or you could get a bit more clever with it. — Joe Smart
– Joe Smart, Commented Sep 12, 2014 at 8:49

enrico.bacis · Accepted Answer · 2014-09-12 08:46:09Z

8

Just use the == operator, it calls the method __eq__ on the list which check the elements equality:

>>> a = [1, 2, 3]
>>> b = [1, 2, 3]
>>> c = [1, 2, 3, 4]
>>> a == b
True
>>> a == c
False

answered Sep 12, 2014 at 8:46

enrico.bacis

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4 Comments

PM 2Ring Over a year ago

Note that if d = [3, 2, 1] then a == d will be False.

enrico.bacis Over a year ago

@PM2Ring Sure, those are different lists, they are equals sets.

PM 2Ring Over a year ago

Indeed. Sorry, I meant to direct that previous comment to the OP.

enrico.bacis Over a year ago

@PM2Ring No problem at all ;)

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