Break content into columns

gistfile1.py

from math import floor

indexes_of_column_breaks = {}
def column(current_count, total_count, num_cols):
    cols = indexes_of_column_breaks.get((total_count, num_cols), [])

    if not cols:
        # Compute the indexes where a new column will start
        cols.append(0)

        # The minimum number of items per column
        base = int(floor(total_count / num_cols))
        for i in xrange(0, num_cols):
            cols.append(base)

        # Add in the extras, left to right
        for j in xrange(0, total_count % num_cols):
            cols[j+1] += 1

        # New we have the total numbers. Add them up to convert them to indexes
        for i, pos in enumerate(cols):
            if i > 0:   
                cols[i] += cols[i-1]

        # Save it so it need not be recomputed     
        indexes_of_column_breaks[(total_count, num_cols)] = cols

    if current_count in cols:
        if current_count > 0:
            print 'end column'
        print 'start column'

def test_column(count, num_cols):
    for i in xrange(0, count):
        column(i, count, num_cols)
        print i

for j in xrange(1,7):
    for i in xrange(0, 20):
        print 'with %s items in %s columns' % (i, j)
        test_column(i, j)
        print "\n-------------------------"