Python – List XOR

Sometimes, while programming, we have a problem in which we might need to perform certain bitwise operations among list elements. This is an essential utility as we come across bitwise operations many times. Let’s discuss certain ways in which XOR can be performed.

Method #1 : Using reduce() + lambda + “^” operator
The above functions can be combined to perform this task. We can employ reduce() to accumulate the result of XOR logic specified by the lambda function. Works only with Python2.

# Python code to demonstrate working of
# List XOR
# Using reduce() + lambda + "^" operator

# initializing list
test_list = [4, 6, 2, 3, 8, 9]

# printing original list
print("The original list is : " + str(test_list))

# List XOR
# Using reduce() + lambda + "^" operator
res = reduce(lambda x, y: x ^ y, test_list)

# printing result
print("The Bitwise XOR of list elements are : " + str(res))

Output :

The original list is : [4, 6, 2, 3, 8, 9]
The Bitwise XOR of list elements are : 2

Method #2 : Using reduce() + operator.ixor
This task can also be performed using this method. In this the task performed by lambda function in above method is performed using ior function for cumulative XOR operation. Works with Python2 only.

# Python code to demonstrate working of
# List XOR
# Using reduce() + operator.ixor
from operator import ixor

# initializing list
test_list = [4, 6, 2, 3, 8, 9]

# printing original list
print("The original list is : " + str(test_list))

# List XOR
# Using reduce() + operator.ixor
res = reduce(ixor, test_list)

# printing result
print("The Bitwise XOR of list elements are : " + str(res))

Output :

The original list is : [4, 6, 2, 3, 8, 9]
The Bitwise XOR of list elements are : 2