Are These Two Versions of load_file() the Same?

[Rajeev Bagra]

 

Question:

Consider the following two versions of the load_file() method.
Are they functionally the same?

---

Version 1

def load_file(self):
    names = {}
    with open(self.__filename) as f:
        for line in f:
            name, *numbers = line.strip().split(';')
            names[name] = numbers

---

Version 2

def load_file(self):
    names = {}
    with open(self.__filename) as f:
        for line in f:
            parts = line.strip().split(';')
            name, *numbers = parts
            names[name] = numbers

---

Answer: Yes — both versions are exactly the same in output and behavior.

The only difference is formatting and an extra variable name:

• Version 1 directly unpacks the split result:

  name, *numbers = line.strip().split(';')
  

• Version 2 first stores the split result in a variable parts:

  parts = line.strip().split(';')
  name, *numbers = parts
  

But both do this exact sequence:

1. Read a line from the file
2. Strip whitespace
3. Split by ;
4. Unpack into name and numbers
5. Store in dictionary as:

   names[name] = numbers
   

So in terms of:

• Logic ✔️
• Performance ✔️
• Output ✔️
• Behavior ✔️

They are identical.

---

Why someone might use Version 2

Using parts makes debugging easier:

print(parts)

But for clean, concise code, Version 1 is perfectly fine.

---

 

[Author]

Posts