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Shane Smith
7,206 Pointschallenge task 2 of 3 python basics imports.py
I have been stuck for about 2 days and cannot figure this out is there someone who can help me out with this one please!
import random
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
def random_meber(my_list):
return (random_member)
4 Answers
Chris Freeman
Treehouse Moderator 68,441 PointsFixed a few things:
import random
ā
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] #<-- not needed Challenge tester creates input.
def random_member(my_list): #<-- corrected typo in function name
return len(my_list) #<-- return length of list
ā
Shane Smith
7,206 Pointsthanks Chris appreciate your help with this help out a great deal
thanks
Christopher Miller
614 PointsI'm having issues with this one too. Been working at this for a few days now...
I got the 1st line correct, however after that, forget it. I'm unsure how to do this.
What is the return_len doing above?
Again, I still struggle how to know what to do, however if I see the solution, I'm understanding it. However I'm basically just copying someone else's code and not really getting to understand the how and why in order to master Python.
Chris Freeman
Treehouse Moderator 68,441 PointsThe return statement is how a function presents a result to send back to the caller. Without the return the function returns a default None which is a Python reserved word meaning "nothing". The format of using return is:
return some_object
The object some_object is returned to the caller. As a Python short-hand coding style, return can also be used as:
return some_expression
In this case, the expression some_expression is evaluated and the resulting object is returned. The following two code blocks are equivalent
# block 1
def random_member(my_list):
result = len(my_list)
return result
# block 2
def random_member(my_list):
return len(my_list)
Shane Smith
7,206 PointsThe return_Len is returning the length of the list using the return_Len will return the length of whatever list you may have or have created