A single iterable argument refers to an argument passed to a function (or constructor) that is itself an iterable, such as a list, tuple, set, or string. An iterable is any Python object capable of returning its members one at a time, allowing it to be iterated over in a loop. When initializing a deque
, the constructor expects one argument that can be iterated over to populate the deque
.
Here are some examples of single iterable arguments:
Examples of Single Iterable Arguments
-
List:
from collections import deque iterable = [1, 2, 3] q = deque(iterable) print(q) # Output: deque([1, 2, 3])
-
Tuple:
from collections import deque iterable = (1, 2, 3) q = deque(iterable) print(q) # Output: deque([1, 2, 3])
-
Set:
from collections import deque iterable = {1, 2, 3} q = deque(iterable) print(q) # Output: deque([1, 2, 3])
-
String:
from collections import deque iterable = "123" q = deque(iterable) print(q) # Output: deque(['1', '2', '3'])
Deque Initialization with Single Iterable Argument
When initializing a deque
, you pass a single iterable containing the elements you want the deque
to hold:
from collections import deque
# Correct usage: Single iterable argument
q = deque([1, 2, 3]) # List is an iterable
print(q) # Output: deque([1, 2, 3])
q = deque((1, 2, 3)) # Tuple is an iterable
print(q) # Output: deque([1, 2, 3])
# Incorrect usage: Multiple arguments instead of a single iterable
q = deque(1, 2, 3) # Raises TypeError
Specific Case: deque([(1, 0)])
In the context of the BFS problem, we want to initialize the deque
with a single element that is a tuple (1, 0)
. This tuple represents a node and its associated time.
from collections import deque
# Correct initialization with a single element that is a tuple
q = deque([(1, 0)])
print(q) # Output: deque([(1, 0)])
This is different from:
# Incorrect initialization with multiple arguments
q = deque(1, 0) # Raises TypeError because deque expects a single iterable
Summary
- Single Iterable Argument: An argument that is an iterable itself, such as a list, tuple, set, or string, which can be iterated over to provide elements to the
deque
. - Correct Initialization: Ensure the
deque
is initialized with one iterable argument. - Incorrect Initialization: Providing multiple arguments directly will raise a
TypeError
.
Here’s the BFS problem solution again with the correct deque initialization:
from collections import deque, defaultdict
from typing import List
class Solution:
def secondMinimum(self, n: int, edges: List[List[int]], time: int, change: int) -> int:
# Create the graph as an adjacency list
graph = defaultdict(list)
for u, v in edges:
graph[u].append(v)
graph[v].append(u)
# Initialize the queue for BFS
q = deque([(1, 0)]) # (node, current_time)
# Initialize distances for the shortest and second shortest times
dist1 = [-1] * (n + 1)
dist2 = [-1] * (n + 1)
dist1[1] = 0
while q:
node, current_time = q.popleft()
# Calculate the next departure time based on the traffic signal
if (current_time // change) % 2 == 1:
next_time = (current_time // change + 1) * change + time
else:
next_time = current_time + time
for neighbor in graph[node]:
if dist1[neighbor] == -1:
dist1[neighbor] = next_time
q.append((neighbor, next_time))
elif dist2[neighbor] == -1 and dist1[neighbor] != next_time:
dist2[neighbor] = next_time
q.append((neighbor, next_time))
if neighbor == n:
return next_time
elif dist1[neighbor] != next_time and dist2[neighbor] != next_time:
if next_time < dist2[neighbor]:
dist2[neighbor] = next_time
q.append((neighbor, next_time))
if neighbor == n:
return next_time
return 0
This solution uses the deque
correctly with a single iterable argument, initializing it with one element that is a tuple (1, 0)
.