# Emulate zip and padding map: build lists def myzip(*seqs): seqs = [list(S) for S in seqs] res = [] while all(seqs): res.append(tuple(S.pop(0) for S in seqs)) return res def mymapPad(*seqs, pad=None): seqs = [list(S) for S in seqs] res = [] while any(seqs): res.append(tuple((S.pop(0) if S else pad) for S in seqs)) return res S1, S2 = 'abc', 'xyz123' print(myzip(S1, S2)) print(mymapPad(S1, S2)) print(mymapPad(S1, S2, pad=99))