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Adiv Abramson
6,919 PointsIn error messages why are variables and functions called "name" instead of "variable"?
Consider the following Python code:
x = 10
Is x a variable or a name or both?
Also, why must error messages be so cryptic?
print("Hello)
generates an error message about an EOL and scanning etc. Why not simply say "You forgot the closing quote"?
2 Answers
Chris Freeman
Treehouse Moderator 68,423 PointsI would say: x is a variable that has the "name" x. Something "being a name" doesn't have a meaning in Python.
Also, why must error messages be so cryptic?
Python error messages seem cryptic, but are actually hyper-overly-specific. Since the Python interpreter doesn't know what the programmer intends, it has to interpret everything literally and respond based on what it sees.
print("Hello) generates an error message about an EOL and scanning etc. Why not simply say "You forgot the closing quote"?
The full error message is "SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal". It does mention a string has an error. However, it's not always clear to the parser whether the opening or closing quote is missing. See 16 common Python runtime errors
Haydar Al-Rikabi
5,971 PointsThe link in Chris' comment is broken.
Please see 16 common Python runtime errors.
Chris Freeman
Treehouse Moderator 68,423 PointsFixed. Thanks!!