Clarifying the {name} and {food} for this ding dang Panda ;p

Question

Y'all, please tell me what I'm doing wrong for step 2 of this problem.
I cannot see the problem.
```panda.py
class Panda:
    species = 'Ailuropoda melanoleuca'
    food = 'bamboo'
    name = 'Bao Bao'
def __init__(self, name, age):
    self.name = name
    self.age = age
    self.is_hungry = True

def eat(self):
    self.is_hungry = False
    self.name = name
    self.food = food
    return '{} eats {}.'.format(self.name, self.food)
```

Asher Orr · Accepted Answer

Hi Adam! The problem is within your "eat" method.
These 2 lines specifically:
~~~python
        self.name = name
        self.food = food
~~~
Let me show you why:
~~~python
class Panda:
    species = 'Ailuropoda melanoleuca'
    food = 'bamboo'
    #the above line says: for all instances of the Panda class, the food attribute is 'bamboo'
    name = 'Bao Bao'
    #note: you can delete this line (name= 'Bao Bao'). I'll get into why later.
def __init__(self, name, age):
    self.is_hungry = True
    self.name = name
    #the above line sets the "name" attribute on any instance of your Panda class to whatever you set it to.
    self.age = age

def eat(self):
    self.is_hungry = False
    return '{} eats {}.'.format(self.name, self.food)
~~~
When you click "Check Work," the checker for this Treehouse challenge is running code like this:
~~~python
attempt = Panda('Bao Bao', 7)
this creates the instance of the class.
the init method wants arguments for the name and age attributes, so they get added here.
attempt.eat()
now it runs the 'eat' method on this instance of your Panda class, which it named attempt.
~~~
Running attempt.eat() will return "Bao Bao eats bamboo."
'Bao Bao' is the name, since the checker passed in the argument 'Bao Bao' for the name attribute. (this is why you can delete line 4.) The name is attribute is supposed to be set when you create an instance- that's why the init method takes name as an argument.
'Bamboo' is the food attribute, because 'bamboo' is the food attribute for ANY instance of the class. 
~~~python
class Panda:
    species = 'Ailuropoda melanoleuca'
    food = 'bamboo'
~~~
Your eat method is getting the information about its attributes (self.name, self.age, self.species, etc) from 2 places:
A) The Class attributes
~~~python
class Panda:
    species = 'Ailuropoda melanoleuca'
    food = 'bamboo'
~~~
If an attribute should always be the same, you make it a Class attribute.
B) The dunder init method.
~~~python
 def init(self, name, age):
~~~
These are for attributes that might change, depending on the instance. For example:
~~~python
bao_bao = Panda('Bao Bao', 7)
basi = Panda("Basi", 2)
bobo = Panda("Bobo", 5)
~~~
Now, to loop back to your original code:
~~~python
 def eat(self):
        self.is_hungry = False
        self.name = name
        #Python goes "what?" self.name was defined in the initializer. Now you want it to equal a variable called "name"
        #I don't know what that variable is, so I'm hitting you with a NameError.
        self.food = food
       #Python again goes "what?" self.name is always 'bamboo'. Now you want it to equal a variable called "food"
       #I don't know what that variable is, either.
        return '{} eats {}.'.format(self.name, self.food)
~~~
If you remove those 2 lines, your code should pass the challenge. I hope this helps- let me know if you have any questions!

Steven Parker · Answer

Neither name nor food are defined inside the method "eat".  But they don't need to be, since they are both defined when the instance is created, and can be referenced via "self.".

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Adam Del Conte

Adam Del Conte

Clarifying the {name} and {food} for this ding dang Panda ;p

2 Answers

Asher Orr

Asher Orr

Adam Del Conte

Adam Del Conte

Steven Parker

Steven Parker

Adam Del Conte

Adam Del Conte