Formatting a list of text into columns

Question

I\'m trying to output a list of string values into a 2 column format. The standard way of making a list of strings into \"normal text\" is by using the string.join

Answer 1

The format_columns function should do what you want:

from __future__ import generators
try: import itertools
except ImportError: mymap, myzip= map, zip
else: mymap, myzip= itertools.imap, itertools.izip

def format_columns(string_list, columns, separator=" "):
    "Produce equal-width columns from string_list"
    sublists= []

    # empty_str based on item 0 of string_list
    try:
        empty_str= type(string_list[0])()
    except IndexError: # string_list is empty
        return

    # create a sublist for every column
    for column in xrange(columns):
            sublists.append(string_list[column::columns])

    # find maximum length of a column
    max_sublist_len= max(mymap(len, sublists))

    # make all columns same length
    for sublist in sublists:
         if len(sublist) < max_sublist_len:
             sublist.append(empty_str)

    # calculate a format string for the output lines
    format_str= separator.join(
        "%%-%ds" % max(mymap(len, sublist))
         for sublist in sublists)

    for line_items in myzip(*sublists):
        yield format_str % line_items

if __name__ == "__main__":
    skills_defs = ["ACM:Aircraft Mechanic", "BC:Body Combat", "BIO:Biology",
        "CBE:Combat Engineer", "CHM:Chemistry", "CMP:Computers",
        "CRM:Combat Rifeman", "CVE:Civil Engineer", "DIS:Disguise",
        "ELC:Electronics","EQ:Equestrian", "FO:Forward Observer",
        "FOR:Forage", "FRG:Forgery", "FRM:Farming", "FSH:Fishing",
        "GEO:Geology", "GS:Gunsmith", "HW:Heavy Weapons", "IF:Indirect Fire",
        "INS:Instruction", "INT:Interrogation", "JP:Jet Pilot", "LB:Longbow",
        "LAP:Light Aircraft Pilot", "LCG:Large Caliber Gun", "LNG:Language",
        "LP:Lockpick", "MC:Melee Combat", "MCY:Motorcycle", "MEC:Mechanic",
        "MED:Medical", "MET:Meterology", "MNE:Mining Engineer",
        "MTL:Metallurgy", "MTN:Mountaineering", "NWH:Nuclear Warhead",
        "PAR:Parachute", "PST:Pistol", "RCN:Recon", "RWP:Rotary Wing Pilot",
        "SBH:Small Boat Handling","SCD:Scuba Diving", "SCR:Scrounging",
        "SWM:Swimming", "TW:Thrown Weapon", "TVD:Tracked Vehicle Driver",
        "WVD:Wheeled Vehicle Driver"]

    for line in format_columns(skills_defs, 2):
        print line

This assumes that you have a Python with generators available.