Python | Check if list contains consecutive numbers

Given a list of numbers, write a Python program to check if the list contains consecutive integers.

Examples:

Input : [2, 3, 1, 4, 5]
Output : True

Input : [1, 2, 3, 5, 6]
Output : False

Let’s discuss the few ways we can do this task.

Approach #1 : using sorted()

This approach uses sorted() function of Python. We compare the sorted list with list of range of minimum and maximum integer of the list and return it.

# Python3 Program to Create list
# with integers within given range

def checkConsecutive(l):
    return sorted(l) == list(range(min(l), max(l)+1))

# Driver Code
lst = [2, 3, 1, 4, 5]
print(checkConsecutive(lst))

Output:

True

Approach #2 : Using numpy.diff()

Numpy module provides a function diff() that calculate the n-th discrete difference along the given axis. We find the iterative difference of the sorted list and check if it is equal to 1.

# Python3 Program to Create list
# with integers within given range
import numpy as np

def checkConsecutive(l):
    n = len(l) - 1
    return (sum(np.diff(sorted(l)) == 1) >= n)

# Driver Code
lst = [2, 3, 1, 4, 5]
print(checkConsecutive(lst))

Output:

True