What is the difference between iterators and iterables in Python?

What is the difference between iterators and iterables in Python?

In Python, an iterable is an object that can return its members one at a time, while an iterator is an object that represents a stream of data and produces the next value when you call next().

Can you give me examples of each?

Sure! A list is an iterable, and you can create an iterator from it using the iter() function. For example, my_list = [1, 2, 3] and my_iter = iter(my_list).

How do I use an iterator in a loop?

You can use a for loop to iterate over an iterable directly, or you can manually call next() on the iterator. For example: for item in my_iter: or next(my_iter).

What are the benefits of using iterators?

Iterators are memory efficient because they generate items on the fly and can handle large datasets without loading everything into memory.