Python: split a list based on a condition?

Question

What\'s the best way, both aesthetically and from a performance perspective, to split a list of items into multiple lists based on a conditional? The equivalent of:

Answer 1

If the list is made of groups and intermittent separators, you can use:

def split(items, p):
    groups = [[]]
    for i in items:
        if p(i):
            groups.append([])
        groups[-1].append(i)
    return groups

Usage:

split(range(1,11), lambda x: x % 3 == 0)
# gives [[1, 2], [3, 4, 5], [6, 7, 8], [9, 10]]