Testing if a list contains another list with Pytho

Question

How can I test if a list contains another list (ie. it's a contiguous subsequence). Say there was a function called contains:

contains([1,2], [-1, 0, 1, 2]) # Returns [2, 3] (contains returns [start, end])
contains([1,3], [-1, 0, 1, 2]) # Returns False
contains([1, 2], [[1, 2], 3]) # Returns False
contains([[1, 2]], [[1, 2], 3]) # Returns [0, 0]

Edit:

contains([2, 1], [-1, 0, 1, 2]) # Returns False
contains([-1, 1, 2], [-1, 0, 1, 2]) # Returns False
contains([0, 1, 2], [-1, 0, 1, 2]) # Returns [1, 3]

Answer 1

Here's a straightforward algorithm that uses list methods:

#!/usr/bin/env python

def list_find(what, where):
    """Find `what` list in the `where` list.

    Return index in `where` where `what` starts
    or -1 if no such index.

    >>> f = list_find
    >>> f([2, 1], [-1, 0, 1, 2])
    -1
    >>> f([-1, 1, 2], [-1, 0, 1, 2])
    -1
    >>> f([0, 1, 2], [-1, 0, 1, 2])
    1
    >>> f([1,2], [-1, 0, 1, 2])
    2
    >>> f([1,3], [-1, 0, 1, 2])
    -1
    >>> f([1, 2], [[1, 2], 3])
    -1
    >>> f([[1, 2]], [[1, 2], 3])
    0
    """
    if not what: # empty list is always found
        return 0
    try:
        index = 0
        while True:
            index = where.index(what[0], index)
            if where[index:index+len(what)] == what:
                return index # found
            index += 1 # try next position
    except ValueError:
        return -1 # not found

def contains(what, where):
    """Return [start, end+1] if found else empty list."""
    i = list_find(what, where)
    return [i, i + len(what)] if i >= 0 else [] #NOTE: bool([]) == False

if __name__=="__main__":
    import doctest; doctest.testmod()