Python | Test for nested list

Sometimes, while working with Python lists, we might have a problem in which we need to find that a list is a Matrix or a list contains a list as its element. This problem can come in the Data Science domain as it involves the use of Matrices more than often. Let’s discuss the certain way in which this task can be performed.

Test for Nested List in Python

Below are the ways by which we can test for nested lists:

• Using any() and instance()
• Using type() Method
• Using recursive function

Test for Nested List Using any() and instance()

The combination of the above functions can be used to perform this task. The any() is used to check for each of the occurrences and the isinstance() is used to check for the list. 

The original list is : [[5, 6], 6, [7], 8, 10]
Does list contain nested list ? : True

Time complexity: O(n), where n is the number of elements in the list.
Auxiliary space: O(1)

Python Test Nested List Using type() method

In this example, the Python code determines if the list test_list contains any nested lists by iterating through its elements and setting the variable res to True if a nested list is found. The final output indicates whether the original list contains a nested list or not.

The original list is : [[5, 6], 6, [7], 8, 10]
Does list contain nested list ? : True

Time Complexity: O(n)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

Testing for Nested List Using Recursive Function

In this example, the Python function has_nested_list employs recursion to determine whether a given list lst contains any nested lists, including nested tuples and sets. The example usage demonstrates the detection of a nested list within the provided list [[5, 6], 6, [7], 8, 10], resulting in the output True.

True

Time complexity: O(n)
Space complexity: O(m)
 

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