How to Efficiently Determine Sublist Presence in a Python List?

Determining Sublist Presence in a Python List

To check whether a sublist exists within a larger list, one can utilize the power of functional programming in Python. Here's a concise function that accomplishes this:

<code class="python">def contains_sublist(lst, sublst):
    n = len(sublst)
    return any((sublst == lst[i:i+n]) for i in range(len(lst)-n+1))</code>

The function works by iterating through the larger list lst, starting at index i, and comparing a slice of length n (the length of the sublist) with the sublist sublst. If any of these slices match sublst, the function returns True. Otherwise, it returns False.

Consider the following examples:

<code class="python">lst1 = [1,0,1,1,1,0,0]
lst2 = [1,0,1,0,1,0,1]

sublistExists(lst1, [1,1,1]) == True
sublistExists(lst2, [1,1,1]) == False</code>

The function operates in O(m*n) time complexity, where m is the length of the larger list and n is the length of the sublist. It leverages the any() function to efficiently exit upon the first match, ensuring computational efficiency.

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