python get slices of list code example

Example 1: python slice an array

a[start:stop]  # items start through stop-1
a[start:]      # items start through the rest of the array
a[:stop]       # items from the beginning through stop-1
a[:]           # a copy of the whole array
Example:
>>> a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
>>> a[1:4]
[2, 3, 4]

Example 2: is : and :: the same in python slice

a[::-1]    # all items in the array, reversed
a[1::-1]   # the first two items, reversed
a[:-3:-1]  # the last two items, reversed
a[-3::-1]  # everything except the last two items, reversed