Why is the range object “not an iterator”? [duplicate]

The range object is iterable. However, it’s not an iterator.

To get an iterator, you need to call iter() first:

>>> r=range(5,15)
>>> next(iter(r))
5
>>> next(iter(r))
5
>>> next(iter(r))
5
>>> next(iter(r))
5
>>> i=iter(r)
>>> next(i)
5
>>> next(i)
6
>>> next(i)
7
>>> next(i)
8
>>> iter(r)
<range_iterator object at 0x10b0f0630>
>>> iter(r)
<range_iterator object at 0x10b0f0750>
>>> iter(r)
<range_iterator object at 0x10b0f0c30>

Edit: But be careful not to call iter() with every call to next(). It creates a new iterator at index 0.