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nicolaspeterson
8,569 PointsI don't get why [::-1] reversed the list
I am aware of other statements and functions that can easily reverse lists permanently or temporarily, why do it this way?
1 Answer
Chris Freeman
Treehouse Moderator 68,454 PointsHey nicolaspeterson, good question!
A slice is one of the common sequence operations that may be applied to a list. The step size of a slice gives it power to skip some values. And the negative step means simply to count relative to the end instead of the list beginning. Being able get every other item from the end of a list might be useful.
The fact that a step of -1 with default start and step values functions equivalently as a reversal is merely convenient syntax sugar. This alternative reversal is well recognized Python idiom.
The slice trick has the advantage of returning a new list and leaving the original list unaltered. The list .reverse() method changes the original list in-place.
Post back if you need more help. Good luck!!!