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Python Python Basics (2015) Logic in Python Try and Except

Chris Jones
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Chris Jones
Java Web Development Techdegree Graduate 23,933 Points

Try and Except Code Challenge (Python Basics): Why isn't this code passing the code challenge?

Can anyone tell me why this code isn't passing the 3rd part of the "Try and Except" code challenge for Python Basics? I keep getting "Oops! It looks like Task 2 is no longer passing." I've read through the challenge description several times now and it seems like this code should pass the code challenge. Can someone help?

Thank you!

trial.py
def add(arg1, arg2):
    try:
        test = int(arg1) + int(arg2)
    except ValueError:
        return(None)
    else:
        return(float(arg1) + float(arg2))

3 Answers

Jason Anders
MOD
Jason Anders
Treehouse Moderator 145,858 Points

Hey Chris,

The try block is checking to make sure things are changed to "floats," which you must have had as you passed Task 2. But now you seem to have "Int" instead, which is causing the "Bummer." If you change your try block back to changing the input to floats ( with the float() ) function, it all passes.

def add(arg1, arg2):
    try:
        test = float(arg1) + float(arg2)
    except ValueError:
        return(None)
    else:
        return(float(arg1) + float(arg2))

:dizzy:

Chris Jones
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.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Chris Jones
Java Web Development Techdegree Graduate 23,933 Points

Thanks, Jason! That worked!

Just curious: The code challenge was asking me to make sure the functions arguments were numbers. Isn't that what I was doing with the Int function? Is this just an example of there being multiple ways to pass the code challenge, but only one being the way that the code challenge was looking for?

Thanks, again!

Jason Anders
Jason Anders
Treehouse Moderator 145,858 Points

The second part of the challenge says: "Let's make sure we're always working with floats." Yes, technically Floats and Ints are numbers, but in coding, they are two very different things. An Int (or Integer) is a whole number only, so 1, 25, 634, 3544 are Ints, but Floats (Floating points) are numbers with a decimal, so 23.53, 2.0 (not the same as 2), 1.4 are Floats. That's why float(arg1) works but Int(arg1) doesn't.

So, in a sense, it is just another way to pass the challenge, but both ways will work very differently depending on the values being passed in.

Hope it makes sense. :)