What is the difference between an iterable and an iterator?

What is the difference between an iterable and an iterator?

An iterable is an object that can be looped over, like a list or a tuple. An iterator is an object that represents a stream of data and allows you to iterate through it, one element at a time.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! A list is an iterable: my_list = [1, 2, 3]. An iterator can be created from it using iter(my_list), which allows you to access elements one by one using next().

Why are iterators useful?

Iterators are useful because they allow you to traverse large datasets without loading everything into memory at once, making your code more efficient.

Are there any built-in functions in Python that use iterators?

Yes, functions like map(), filter(), and zip() return iterators, allowing you to process data in a memory-efficient way.