Python append() vs. + operator on lists, why do these give different results?

Question

Why do these two operations (append() resp. +) give different results?

>>> c = [1, 2, 3]
>>> c
[1, 2, 3]
>>> c += c
>>> c
[1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3]
>>> c = [1, 2, 3]
>>> c.append(c)
>>> c
[1, 2, 3, [...]]
>>> 

In the last case there's actually an infinite recursion. c[-1] and c are the same. Why is it different with the + operation?

Answer 1

To explain "why":

The + operation adds the array elements to the original array. The array.append operation inserts the array (or any object) into the end of the original array, which results in a reference to self in that spot (hence the infinite recursion).

The difference here is that the + operation acts specific when you add an array (it's overloaded like others, see this chapter on sequences) by concatenating the element. The append-method however does literally what you ask: append the object on the right-hand side that you give it (the array or any other object), instead of taking its elements.

An alternative

Use extend() if you want to use a function that acts similar to the + operator (as others have shown here as well). It's not wise to do the opposite: to try to mimic append with the + operator for lists (see my earlier link on why).

Little history

For fun, a little history: the birth of the array module in Python in February 1993. it might surprise you, but arrays were added way after sequences and lists came into existence.