Python 2.2 introduced simple generators to Python language, and reconceived standard loops in terms of underlying iterators. With Python 2.3, generators become standard (no need for __future__), and the new module [itertools] is introduced to work flexibly with iterators. Over time, I think more capabilities will be introduced to this module, but already it is a very interesting thing. The [itertools] modules is essentially a set of combinatorial higher-order functions, but ones that work with lazy iterators rather than with finite lists. This installment explores the new module, and gives reader a sense of the new expressive power available with combinatorial iterators.
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