syntax - Is there a standardized method to swap two variables in Python?

378
votes

In Python, I've seen two variable values swapped using this syntax:

left, right = right, left

Is this considered the standard way to swap two variable values or is there some other means by which two variables are by convention most usually swapped?

7
pythonsyntaxswapconventions
@eyquem: it simply comes down to whether order-of-evaluation is defined by the language for a tuple/list assignment. Python does, most older languages don't. - smci
Hrmm C++ has swap(a[i], a[k]) why can't we have something like this for Python. - Nils
@Nils Because in Python, assignment is an aliasing operation while in C++ assignment to a reference is a replacement operation. Therefore in Python you cannot replace the values of the arguments passed to a function like in C++ (you can only mutate them). See Copying and Comparing: Problems and Solutions by Grogono and Sakkinen for an explanation of these terms. - Maggyero

7 Answers

450
votes

Python evaluates expressions from left to right. Notice that while evaluating an assignment, the right-hand side is evaluated before the left-hand side.

Python docs: Evaluation order

That means the following for the expression a,b = b,a :

  • The right-hand side b,a is evaluated, that is to say, a tuple of two elements is created in the memory. The two elements are the objects designated by the identifiers b and a, that were existing before the instruction is encountered during the execution of the program.
  • Just after the creation of this tuple, no assignment of this tuple object has still been made, but it doesn't matter, Python internally knows where it is.
  • Then, the left-hand side is evaluated, that is to say, the tuple is assigned to the left-hand side.
  • As the left-hand side is composed of two identifiers, the tuple is unpacked in order that the first identifier a be assigned to the first element of the tuple (which is the object that was formerly b before the swap because it had name b)
    and the second identifier b is assigned to the second element of the tuple (which is the object that was formerly a before the swap because its identifiers was a)

This mechanism has effectively swapped the objects assigned to the identifiers a and b

So, to answer your question: YES, it's the standard way to swap two identifiers on two objects.
By the way, the objects are not variables, they are objects.

115
votes

That is the standard way to swap two variables, yes.

41
votes

I know three ways to swap variables, but a, b = b, a is the simplest. There is

XOR (for integers)

x = x ^ y
y = y ^ x
x = x ^ y

Or concisely, 

x ^= y
y ^= x
x ^= y

Temporary variable

w = x
x = y
y = w
del w

Tuple swap

x, y = y, x
27
votes

I would not say it is a standard way to swap because it will cause some unexpected errors.

nums[i], nums[nums[i] - 1] = nums[nums[i] - 1], nums[i]

nums[i] will be modified first and then affect the second variable nums[nums[i] - 1].

6
votes

Does not work for multidimensional arrays, because references are used here.

import numpy as np

# swaps
data = np.random.random(2)
print(data)
data[0], data[1] = data[1], data[0]
print(data)

# does not swap
data = np.random.random((2, 2))
print(data)
data[0], data[1] = data[1], data[0]
print(data)

See also Swap slices of Numpy arrays

-1
votes

To get around the problems explained by eyquem, you could use the copy module to return a tuple containing (reversed) copies of the values, via a function:

from copy import copy

def swapper(x, y):
  return (copy(y), copy(x))

Same function as a lambda:

swapper = lambda x, y: (copy(y), copy(x))

Then, assign those to the desired names, like this:

x, y = swapper(y, x)

NOTE: if you wanted to you could import/use deepcopy instead of copy.

-3
votes

You can combine tuple and XOR swaps: x, y = x ^ x ^ y, x ^ y ^ y

x, y = 10, 20

print('Before swapping: x = %s, y = %s '%(x,y))

x, y = x ^ x ^ y, x ^ y ^ y

print('After swapping: x = %s, y = %s '%(x,y))

or

x, y = 10, 20

print('Before swapping: x = %s, y = %s '%(x,y))

print('After swapping: x = %s, y = %s '%(x ^ x ^ y, x ^ y ^ y))

Using lambda:

x, y = 10, 20

print('Before swapping: x = %s, y = %s' % (x, y))

swapper = lambda x, y : ((x ^ x ^ y), (x ^ y ^ y))

print('After swapping: x = %s, y = %s ' % swapper(x, y))

Output:

Before swapping: x =  10 , y =  20
After swapping: x =  20 , y =  10