help with init method and the control flow.

Question

hi, so my question is the following. in the game that we are making close to the end we override the init. my question is not with the init but with the stuff that kenneth wrote in it. 
```Python
def init(self):
    self.setup()
while self.player.hit_points and (self.monster or self.monsters):
  print('
'+'='*20)
  print(self.player)
  self.monster_turn()
  print('-'*20)
  self.player_turn()
  self.cleanup()
  print('
'+'='*20)

if self.player.hit_points:
  print("You win!")
elif self.monsters or self.monster:
  print("You lose!")
sys.exit()
```
so my question is =  for the while loop  and the IF statement and ELIF statements. aren't we supposed to test a condition? so for example in the while loop. 
Python
    while self.player.hit_points and (self.monster or self.monsters):

is that supposed to be read, 
Python 
while self.player.hit_points == True and (self.monster == True or self.monsters == True)

if so, does that mean that when self.player.hit_points comes back False, that the player has no more hit points??

Chris Freeman · Accepted Answer

There is a shorthand used in coding where objects have a "Truthiness", that is, they are considered True if they are not None, not 0, not empty (like {} or []). Therefore you don't have to compare them to "True". More in the docs Truth Value Testing (https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#truth-value-testing)
Since self.player.hit_points is a numeric value:
python
    while self.player.hit_points:
    # is equivalent to:
    while self.player.hit_points != 0:

For self.monster and self.monsters, an object existing is considered "True".
As another example:
python
    if list_of_values:
    # is preferred over
    if len(list_of_values) > 0:
`

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Michael Pastran

Michael Pastran

help with init method and the control flow.

1 Answer

Chris Freeman

Chris Freeman

Michael Pastran

Michael Pastran

Chris Freeman

Chris Freeman