for a given maximum comparator width, determine a list of comparator stages

gistfile1.py

MAX_COMPARATOR_WIDTH = 24

def stages(n, max_width=MAX_COMPARATOR_WIDTH):
    s = []
    while n > 1:
        q = n // max_width
        r = n % max_width

        s.append([max_width]*q + [r])

        n += (max_width - 1)
        n //= max_width
    return s