In Python, a float is a variable that is designed to store numeric values with decimal parts. Usually, you cannot iterate over a float object directly, as the concept of iteration generally applies to sequence types like lists, tuples or strings.
However, there are indirect ways to iterate over a float, such as converting the float to another iterable data type or using rounded float range values. Let’s see how you can achieve this in Python
Step 1: Python Basic Iteration Concept
When we talk about iteration, it generally applies to sequence types like lists, tuples or strings. Let’s illustrate this with an example:
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sequence = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] for item in sequence: print(item) |
In the above Python code, we iterated over the list sequence and printed each item. However, if we replace sequence with a float number:
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number = 2.5 for item in number: print(item) |
Executing the above code will raise a TypeError, stating ‘float’ object is not iterable. This means, in Python, we cannot iterate over a float directly.
Step 2: Convert Float to String for Iteration
One way around this problem is to convert the float into a string, then iterate through each character. We can modify our previous example to demonstrate this:
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number = 2.5 for item in str(number): print(item) |
1 2 3 4 5 2 . 5
Now, the script will iterate over each character in the float value, including the decimal point.
Step 3: Iterating Over Ranges of Float
Another approach is to create a function that behaves similar to the built-in range function but accepts float values. The function’s start and stop parameters can be float, and the function will yield a sequence of floating-point numbers.
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def frange(start, stop, step): while start < stop: yield start start += step for n in frange(0, 1, 0.1): print(round(n, 1)) |
This frange function returns a sequence of floating-point numbers from start (inclusive) to stop (exclusive) by step. The for loop utilizes this function to iterate over the sequence of float numbers.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
The full provided code below:
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# Step 1: Illustrating basic iteration sequence = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] for item in sequence: print(item) # Step 2: Iterating over a float converted to a string number = 2.5 for item in str(number): print(item) # Step 3: Iterating over ranges of float def frange(start, stop, step): while start < stop: yield start start += step for n in frange(0, 1, 0.1): print(round(n, 1)) |
Conclusion
Python’s flexibility allows us to solve problems from multiple angles. In the case of iterating over a float, although it cannot be done directly, we can use indirect methods like converting the float to a string or using a custom-made float range function.
Both methods have different use-cases and will be beneficial depending on your individual programming scenario.