Please note, this is a STATIC archive of website www.w3resource.com from 19 Jul 2022, cach3.com does not collect or store any user information, there is no "phishing" involved.
w3resource

Python: Check if two lists contain the same elements regardless of order

Python List: Exercise - 257 with Solution

Write a Python program to check if two given lists contain the same elements regardless of order.

  • Use set() on the combination of both lists to find the unique values.
  • Iterate over them with a for loop comparing the count() of each unique value in each list.
  • Return False if the counts do not match for any element, True otherwise.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

def check_same_contents(nums1, nums2):
  for x in set(nums1 + nums2):
    if nums1.count(x) != nums2.count(x):
      return False
  return True
nums1 = [1, 2, 4]
nums2 = [2, 4, 1]
print("Original list elements:")
print(nums1)
print(nums2)
print("\nCheck two said lists contain the same elements regardless of order!")
print(check_same_contents(nums1, nums2))
nums1 = [1, 2, 3]
nums2 = [1, 2, 3]
print("\nOriginal list elements:")
print(nums1)
print(nums2)
print("\nCheck two said lists contain the same elements regardless of order!")
print(check_same_contents(nums1, nums2))
nums1 = [1, 2, 3]
nums2 = [1, 2, 4]
print("\nOriginal list elements:")
print(nums1)
print(nums2)
print("\nCheck two said lists contain the same elements regardless of order!")
print(check_same_contents(nums1, nums2))

Sample Output:

Original list elements:
[1, 2, 4]
[2, 4, 1]

Check two said lists contain the same elements regardless of order!
True

Original list elements:
[1, 2, 3]
[1, 2, 3]

Check two said lists contain the same elements regardless of order!
True

Original list elements:
[1, 2, 3]
[1, 2, 4]

Check two said lists contain the same elements regardless of order!
False

Flowchart:

Flowchart: Check if two lists contain the same elements regardless of order.

Visualize Python code execution:

The following tool visualize what the computer is doing step-by-step as it executes the said program:


Python Code Editor:

Have another way to solve this solution? Contribute your code (and comments) through Disqus.

Previous: Write a Python program to get the powerset of a given iterable.
Next: Write a Python program to create a given flat list of all the keys in a flat dictionary.

What is the difficulty level of this exercise?

Test your Programming skills with w3resource's quiz.



Python: Tips of the Day

Find current directory and file's directory:

To get the full path to the directory a Python file is contained in, write this in that file:

import os 
dir_path = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))

(Note that the incantation above won't work if you've already used os.chdir() to change your current working directory, since the value of the __file__ constant is relative to the current working directory and is not changed by an os.chdir() call.)

To get the current working directory use

import os
cwd = os.getcwd()

Documentation references for the modules, constants and functions used above:

  • The os and os.path modules.
  • The __file__ constant
  • os.path.realpath(path) (returns "the canonical path of the specified filename, eliminating any symbolic links encountered in the path")
  • os.path.dirname(path) (returns "the directory name of pathname path")
  • os.getcwd() (returns "a string representing the current working directory")
  • os.chdir(path) ("change the current working directory to path")

Ref: https://bit.ly/3fy0R6m