looking 4 py code: line up columns

[ichabod801]

Here's my attempt to recreate my code just after waking up:

states = [['Arkansas', 'Little_Rock'], ['Delaware', 'Dover'], ['Illinois', 'Springfield'], ['Indiana', 'Indianapolis'], 
   ['Kentucky', 'Frankfort'], ['New_Jersey', 'Trenton'], ['New_York', 'Albany'], ['North_Carolina', 'Raleigh'], 
   ['Ohilo', 'Columbus'], ['Pennsylvania', 'Harrisburg'], ['South_Carolina', 'Columbia'], ['Texas', 'Austin'], 
   ['Virginia', 'Richmond'], ['West_Virginia', 'Charleston']]

max_widths = []
for column_index in range(len(states[0])):
   column = [row[column_index] for row in states]
   max_widths.append(len(max([str(datum) for datum in column], key = len)))
specs = ['{{:<{}}}'.format(width) for width in max_widths]
format_spec = ' '.join(specs)
lines = [format_spec.format(*row) for row in states]
print('\n'.join(lines))

Here's the output:

Output:
Arkansas       Little_Rock 
Delaware       Dover       
Illinois       Springfield 
Indiana        Indianapolis
Kentucky       Frankfort   
New_Jersey     Trenton     
New_York       Albany      
North_Carolina Raleigh     
Ohilo          Columbus    
Pennsylvania   Harrisburg  
South_Carolina Columbia    
Texas          Austin      
Virginia       Richmond    
West_Virginia  Charleston  

You would just need to vary the justification indicator in the format specification based on the type of the column.