Python – Remove Tuples with difference greater than K

When working with tuples, you may need to filter out tuples where the absolute difference between elements exceeds a threshold value K. Python provides an efficient way to accomplish this using list comprehension and the abs() function.

Example

Here's how to remove tuples with difference greater than K ?

my_tuple = [(41, 18), (21, 57), (39, 22), (23, 42), (22, 10)]
print("The tuple is :")
print(my_tuple)

K = 20
my_result = [element for element in my_tuple if abs(element[0] - element[1]) <= K]

print("The result is :")
print(my_result)

The tuple is :
[(41, 18), (21, 57), (39, 22), (23, 42), (22, 10)]
The result is :
[(39, 22), (23, 42), (22, 10)]

How It Works

Let's break down the filtering process ?

tuples = [(41, 18), (21, 57), (39, 22), (23, 42), (22, 10)]
K = 20

print("Checking each tuple:")
for t in tuples:
    difference = abs(t[0] - t[1])
    keep = difference <= K
    print(f"Tuple {t}: difference = {difference}, keep = {keep}")

Checking each tuple:
Tuple (41, 18): difference = 23, keep = False
Tuple (21, 57): difference = 36, keep = False
Tuple (39, 22): difference = 17, keep = True
Tuple (23, 42): difference = 19, keep = True
Tuple (22, 10): difference = 12, keep = True

Alternative Approach Using Filter

You can also use the filter() function for the same result ?

tuples = [(41, 18), (21, 57), (39, 22), (23, 42), (22, 10)]
K = 20

result = list(filter(lambda t: abs(t[0] - t[1]) <= K, tuples))
print("Filtered tuples:", result)

Filtered tuples: [(39, 22), (23, 42), (22, 10)]

Comparison

Conclusion

Use list comprehension with abs() to remove tuples with difference greater than K. The abs() function ensures you get the absolute difference regardless of which element is larger.