CODEWITHSUNDEEP
python-3.x
pokey
pokey

Reputation: 11

Looking for a string inside a list

I have been trying different scenarios with the following code and can't seem to get the right code. I am trying to look in a list for a word and return True. The word that I am looking for is "Jack", but the list contain "Jackie" which is incorrect, but the code return True.

def name_finder(listName,name):
if listName.find(name)!= -1:
    return True
else:
    return False

nameList = "Joshua Diaddigo, Marguerite Murrell, Jackie Elliott"

print(name_finder(nameList,"Jack"))
print("Done!")

Any help would be appreciated even if it is a hint to where to start.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 33

Answers (3)

khelwood
khelwood

Reputation: 59229

If you're trying to find a whole word in a string, you can use regex with the word boundary symbol, \b. 

import re
def name_finder(names, name):
    return (re.search(r'\b%s\b'%re.escape(name), names) is not None)

Upvotes: 1

Akash Wankhede
Akash Wankhede

Reputation: 618

You need to convert your name_list in python's list datatype, You can do that by this way,

nameList = "Joshua Diaddigo, Marguerite Murrell, Jackie Elliott"
nameList = nameList.split(',')
name = "Jack"

def name_finder(nameList,name):
    if name in nameList:
        return True
    else:
        return False

I hope this helps.

Upvotes: 0

hiro protagonist
hiro protagonist

Reputation: 46921

one way is to use the regex module:

def name_finder(lst, name):
    re_str = '(^|\ |,){}($|\ |,)'.format(name)
    return re.search(re_str, lst) != None

the regular expression matches <'the beginning of the string' or 'a space' or 'a comma'> followed by the name followed by <'the end of the string' or 'a space' or 'a comma'>. there may be more elegant ways to write a regex for that...

Upvotes: 1

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