Question

How can I pad a list when printed in python?

For example, I have the following list:

mylist = ['foo', 'bar']

I want to print this padded to four indices, with commas. I know I can do the following to get it as a comma and space separated list:

', '.join(mylist)

But how can I pad it to four indices with ‘x’s, so the output is like:

foo, bar, x, x

Answer 1

In [1]: l = ['foo', 'bar']

In [2]: ', '.join(l + ['x'] * (4 - len(l)))
Out[2]: 'foo, bar, x, x'

The ['x'] * (4 - len(l)) produces a list comprising the correct number of 'x'entries needed for the padding.

edit There’s been a question about what happens if len(l) > 4. In this case ['x'] * (4 - len(l)) results in an empty list, as expected.