Question

How do I write this as a list comprehension?

for i in range(len(genes)):
    if compareGenes(genes[i], target) > count:
        best = genes[i]
        count = compareGenes(genes[i], target) 

Answer 1

max with a generator comprehension would be a nice way to go.

count, best = max((compareGenes(k, target), k) for k in genes)

Alternately, use a key argument to max:

best = max(genes, key=lambda k: compareGenes(k, target))