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Find And Replace Character In Python

For the get_letter_from_user function, while using the while loop for validation, it keeps repeating the invalid input; I want to make sure that it is a single letter and lower case, and I want to make sure that it doesn't equal the second parameter of the function. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, though. (and how to get gud at coding if u have tips)
def get_text_from_user(prompt):
return input(prompt).lower()
def get_letter_from_user(prompt, not_allowed):
not_allowed = ''
allowed = input(prompt).lower()
while not allowed == not_allowed or allowed.isalpha() or len(allowed) > 1:
allowed = str(input('Invalid letter, try again:'))
return allowed
def main():
text = get_text_from_user("Enter some text: ")
ltr1 = get_letter_from_user("Enter a letter: ", '')
ltr2 = get_letter_from_user("Enter another letter: ", ltr1)
new_text = text.replace(ltr1,ltr2)
print("The new text is", new_text)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()

Suggestion for the function:
def get_letter_from_user(prompt, not_allowed):
allowed = input(prompt).lower()
while allowed == not_allowed or len(allowed) > 1:
print('not_allowed:',not_allowed)
allowed = str(input('Invalid letter, try again:'))
return allowed
ltr1 = get_letter_from_user("Enter a letter: ", '')
ltr2 = get_letter_from_user("Enter another letter: ", ltr1)
Sample output:
Enter a letter: d
Enter another letter: d
not_allowed: d
Invalid letter, try again:d
not_allowed: d
Invalid letter, try again:a

To replace a letter or sequence of letters in a string, you might want to take a look at the string.replace() function:
text = input('Enter some text: ')
find = input('Enter a letter to replace: ')
replace_with = input(f'Enter a letter to replace \'{find}\' with: ')
replaced = text.replace(find, reolace_with)
print('The new text is:', replaced)

To add another little detail because you asked how to get better at coding:
I would never make a function with a parameter that is immediately changed to an empty string. Like:
def get_letter_from_user(prompt, not_allowed):
not_allowed = ''
Rather use a default value like this:
def get_letter_from_user(prompt, not_allowed=''):
...

Recursion with defined functions for simple text-based Python program

I'm writing my first program - it's an idiom generator, which combines individual elements from lists of random verbs, nouns, and pronouns (that I have entered) in Madlibs style and generates a humorous expression. This is a simplified version of my source code:
baseFunction = True
def mainFunction() :
import random
quest = input("Which language do you want it in? Type 'French' or 'English'. ")
if quest == "French" or "french":
verb =
#list of verbs I have manually entered
noun =
#list of nouns I have manually entered
pronoun =
#list of pronouns I have manually entered
morenouns =
#list of nouns I have manually entered
phrase = random.choice(verb) + random.choice(noun) + random.choice(pronoun) + random.choice(morenouns)
print(phrase)
print("Now, give it some meaning and use in the world!")
elif quest == "English" or "english":
verb =
#another list of verbs I have manually entered
noun =
#another list of nouns I have manually entered
pronoun =
#another list of pronouns I have manually entered
morenouns =
#another list of nouns I have manually entered
phrase = random.choice(verb) + random.choice(noun) + random.choice(pronoun) + random.choice(morenouns)
print(phrase)
print("Now, invent some meaning for it and use it in the world!")
f8 = input("Do you want to make another one? Say 'yes' if you do. ")
if f8 == "yes" or "Yes":
mainFunction()
else:
print("Thanks for playing!")
else:
print("Didn't quite catch that. Try again! (say yes!)")
mainFunction()
def malif() :
ques = input("Want to hear a funny idiom? Say 'yes' or 'no'. ")
if ques == "yes" or "Yes":
mainFunction()
elif ques == "no" or "No":
print("Wrong answer. Try again! (say yes)")
malif()
else:
print("Didn't quite catch that. Say 'yes' or 'no'.")
while baseFunction :
malif()
mainFunction()
Essentially, I am asking the user whether they want to make an idiom, offering them a choice of language, generating the expression for them, and then asking them if they want to repeat the process. When I run the script in PyCharm, it runs the two functions in order (meaning, malif() first and then mainFunction(), as I have it at the end) but it does not pay any attention to my input (ex. if I say 'no' it runs the mainFunction anyway and will always do it in French even if I say 'English').
I used some of the tips discussed in this entry (Python - How to make program go back to the top of the code instead of closing). I think the problem lies calling the functions in their own definitions (ex. calling malif() if I answer 'no' to input 'ques', which is defined in malif() ). Yet, I have followed the tips discussed in the question that I linked and it is still not working the way that I want it to. Am I doing something wrong in formatting the code (ex. in terms of indentation) or if it is not obvious what I am doing wrong, is there a way for me to loop functions back to the beginning that was not suggested in the original question?
Thanks!

First some tips when you work with strings as input. Python will make the difference between caps and non-caps letter, thus a good way to deal with strings is to lower() them first (or upper(), ...):
Example:
ques = input("Enter Yes or No: ")
ques = ques.lower()
if ques == "yes":
# do something
elif ques == "no":
# do something else
else:
# raise error
Now I feel like your code is build in a funny way. A good habit is to separate the import from the functions, from the main program. The 2 first will be imported if the module (file) is imported, while the last one will be played when the file is executed. To do so, you can use this:
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""
docstring of the module
"""
# Imports
import random
import os
# Functions
def f():
return "Hello world"
# Main program
if __name__ == '__main__':
# Calling the function, taking the inputs and so on
In the main program, it's rather useful to deal with the possibility that an exception is raised. Moreover, if you use the cmd to display your program, the cmd will close immediately when an error is raised. This syntax is quite useful:
if __name__ == '__main__':
try:
# Do stuff
except:
import sys
print (sys.exc_info()[0])
import traceback
print (traceback.format_exc())
os.system("pause") # for windows, else easy way is to have an empty input to freeze the cmd
Now your code. I would rework it this way:
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""
Docstring
"""
# Imports
import random
import os
# Functions
def build_a_phrase(language) :
if language == "french":
verb = ["vendre", "atterir", "attaquer", "jeter"]
#list of verbs I have manually entered
noun = ["arbre", "poisson", "chien"]
#list of nouns I have manually entered
pronoun = ["un", "les"]
#list of pronouns I have manually entered
morenouns = ["chat", "oiseau"]
#list of nouns I have manually entered
choices = [random.choice(verb), random.choice(noun), random.choice(pronoun), random.choice(morenouns)]
phrase = " ".join(choices) # Add a space between the words
return phrase
elif language == "english":
verb = ["...", "...", "..."]
#another list of verbs I have manually entered
noun = ["...", "...", "..."]
#another list of nouns I have manually entered
pronoun = ["...", "...", "..."]
#another list of pronouns I have manually entered
morenouns = ["...", "...", "..."]
#another list of nouns I have manually entered
choices = [random.choice(verb), random.choice(noun), random.choice(pronoun), random.choice(morenouns)]
phrase = " ".join(choices) # Add a space between the words
return phrase
if __name__ == '__main__':
try:
# Parameters
available_language = ["french", "english"]
available_answers = ["yes", "no"]
# Safety implementation of an input
quest = ""
i = 0
while quest.lower() not in available_answers:
quest = input("Want to hear a funny idiom? Say 'yes' or 'no'. ")
i += 1
if i == 2: # number of tries
break
if quest.lower() == "no":
print ("I'm sure you meant yes.")
language = ""
i = 0
while language.lower() not in available_language:
language = input("Which language do you want it in? Type 'French' or 'English'.\n")
i += 1
if i == 2: # number of tries
break
while True:
sentence = build_a_phrase(language)
print (sentence)
print ("Now, give it some meaning and use in the world!")
f8 = ""
i = 0
while f8.lower() not in available_answers:
f8 = input("Do you want to make another one? Say 'yes' if you do. ")
i += 1
if i == 2: # number of tries
break
if f8.lower() == "no":
print("Thanks for playing!")
break
except:
import sys
print (sys.exc_info()[0])
import traceback
print (traceback.format_exc())
os.system("pause")
Hope you'll get a few good tricks from this answer, and some good habits :)
Not complete yet, when the input is wrong, an Error should be raised rather than waiting for the error resulting in the wrong input (i.e. a raise statement should be placed instead of the breaks)

Error while getting input added into list

I am attempting to create a program that asks for the user to enter his/her name and records the input into a list (Was working towards dictionary but seems like I made a boo boo!) but it is returning with "TypeError: can only concatenate list (not "str") to list". The following is the code.Thanks in advance.
namedic = []
while True:
print ("Please, enter your name:")
name = input()
if len(name) > 3:
print ("Welcome")
else:
print ("Ew, your name have less than 4 letters! Gross! Try a new one")
continue
namedic = namedic + name
print ("Ah, your name have at least 4 words, good name.")
for name in namedic:
print (name)

Your erroring line is namedic = namedic + name. What you're trying to do is add a list (namedic) to a string (name). You should do namedic.append(name) instead.

The + operator isn't used to append elements to a list, as the error shows. You can use the append method for that:
namedic.append(name)

#your code should rather be like this;
namedic = []
while True:
print ("Please, enter your name:")
name = input()
if len(name) > 3:
print ("Welcome")
else:
print ("Ew, your name have less than 4 letters! Gross! Try a new one")
continue
namedic.append(name)
print ("Ah, your name have at least 4 words, good name.")
for name in namedic:
print (name)

Nested If Expression with user validation - repeating the prompt for user input

Thank you #Idor I am making some progress but I am not 100% there yet. Right now my code looks as following:
def easy_game(easy_text, parts_of_speech1):
replaced = []
easy_text = easy_text.split()
i = 0
for word in easy_text:
replacement = word_in_pos_easy(word, parts_of_speech1)
if replacement != None:
user_input = raw_input("Type in: " + replacement + " ")
word = word.replace(replacement, user_input)
while word != solutions[i]:
print "Sorry, you are wrong"
user_input = raw_input("Type in: " + replacement + " ")
print i
i = i + 1
print i
replaced.append(word)
else:
replaced.append(word)
replaced = " ".join(replaced)
print
#time.sleep(1)
print "Ok, lets see your results. Does it make sense?"
print
#time.sleep(1)
return replaced
print
#time.sleep(1)
print easy_game(easy_text, parts_of_speech1)
You can see I added the while loop. I also added an index and for troubleshooting I added print i to see what the program is doing. It still confuses me a bit or doesn't work as I would expect it. But being a newbie to programming my expectations are probably wrong. Here's what's happening:
When you enter the correct answer the program continues to question 2 and also increases i by 1
This works from beginning to end if you enter everything correctly
When you enter the wrong answer you are prompted to enter it again. Good!
However the user then gets stuck in this very question although i has been increased to the right value.
I don't really understand why the user would be stuck at this point when i has been increased, i.e. we would check at the right position in the list for the correct answer.
This is the full code of the game. I can successfully run it on my Mac but see the above behavior. Any thoughts on this by any chance? thanks in advance!
parts_of_speech1 = ["Word1", "Word2", "Word3", "Word4"]
# The following is the text for the easy text..
easy_text = "Python is a Word1 language that provides constructs intended to enable clear programs on both small and large scale. Python implementation was started in December Word2 by Guido von Rossum. The most simple Word3 in Python is Word4 and normally used at the beginning to tell Python to write 'Hello World' on the screen."
solutions = ["programming", "1989", "function", "print"]
# Checks if a word in parts_of_speech is a substring of the word passed in.
def word_in_pos_easy(word, parts_of_speech1):
for pos in parts_of_speech1:
if pos in word:
return pos
return None
# Plays a full game of mad_libs. A player is prompted to replace words in the easy text,
# which appear in parts_of_speech with their own words.
def easy_game(easy_text, parts_of_speech1):
replaced = []
easy_text = easy_text.split()
i = 0
for word in easy_text:
replacement = word_in_pos_easy(word, parts_of_speech1)
if replacement != None:
user_input = raw_input("Type in: " + replacement + " ")
word = word.replace(replacement, user_input)
while word != solutions[i]:
print "Sorry, you are wrong"
user_input = raw_input("Type in: " + replacement + " ")
print i
i = i + 1
print i
replaced.append(word)
else:
replaced.append(word)
replaced = " ".join(replaced)
print
#time.sleep(1)
print "Ok, lets see your results. Does it make sense?"
print
#time.sleep(1)
return replaced
print
#time.sleep(1)
print easy_game(easy_text, parts_of_speech1)
I am building out a quiz based on raw_input using several different list operations. I also want to validate the user input against a list before moving on to the next question in the quiz.
The function currently looks like this:
def play_game(ml_string, parts_of_speech):
replaced = []
ml_string = ml_string.split()
for word in ml_string:
replacement = word_in_pos(word, parts_of_speech)
if replacement != None:
user_input = raw_input("Type in a: " + replacement + " ")
word = word.replace(replacement, user_input)
if word != solution_list1[0]:
print "Sorry, you are wrong. Try again!"
replaced.append(word)
else:
replaced.append(word)
replaced = " ".join(replaced)
return replaced
In Line 9 I am checking against the List containing the solution words. Whereas the validation itself works the function just continues to the next question but I need it to repeat the question until getting the correct answer. I tried to reposition the different lines but simply can't get my head around it at this point in time. Where or how do I need to place the validation of the user input correctly to prompt the user for the same question again?

It seems to me that what you are looking for is a while loop.
Instead of:
if word != solution_list1[0]:
print "Sorry, you are wrong. Try again!"
Try:
while word != solution_list1[0]:
print "Sorry, you are wrong. Try again!"
user_input = raw_input("Type in a: " + replacement + " ") # ask the user again
word = word.replace(replacement, user_input)
This way the user will have to answer the question again (raw_input) until he gets it right.

Problems transferring information from one part of a function to another

While working on my program I have run into a problem where the information stored in Menu option 1 is not being transferred to Menu option 2. As you can see it is correctly stored when in menu one. When it returns to go to menu option 2 its like it never went to option 1.
update #1:
some suggestions I've had is to understand scope? from what I can tell the program is not passing the data along to its parent program even though I've typed out return in each of the definitions.
#Must be able to store at least 4 grades
#Each class can have up to 6 tests and 8 hw's
#Weighted 40%*testavg 40% hw average attendance is 20%
#User must be able to input a minimum grade warning
#after each test the your program must calculate the students average and issue warning if necessary
##Define the Modules##
import math
def menu (a): #2nd thing to happen
menuend = 'a'
while menuend not in 'e':
menuend = raw_input("Type anything other then 'e' to continue:\n")
print "What would you like to do ?"
menudo = 0
print "1 - Enter Courses\n2 - Select Course to Edit\n3 - Save File\n4 - Load File\n5 - Exit\n"
menudo = input("Enter Selection:")
if (menudo == 1):
menuchck = 0
menuchck = raw_input("\nYou have entered #1 (y/n)?:\n")
if menuchck in ["Yes","yes","y","Y"]:
x = m1()
else:
print "I'm sorry,",nam,",for the confusion, lets try again\n"
menu()
elif (menudo == 2):
menuchck1 = 0
menuchck1 = raw_input("\nYou have entered #2 (y/n)?:\n")
if menuchck1 in ["Yes","yes","y","Y"]:
x = m2()
else:
print "I'm sorry,",nam,",for the confusion, lets try again\n"
menu()
elif (menudo == 3):
print "Entered 3"
elif (menudo == 4):
print "Entered 4"
else:
print "Anything Else Entered"
def course(): #3rd thing to happen
b = {}
while True:
while True:
print "\n",name,", please enter your courses below ('e' to end):"
coursename = raw_input("Course Name:")
if (coursename == 'e'):
break
will = None
while will not in ('y','n'):
will = raw_input('Ok for this name : %s ? (y/n)' % coursename)
if will=='y':
b[coursename] = {}
print "\n",name,", current course load:\n",b
coursechck = None
while coursechck not in ('y','n'):
coursechck = raw_input("Are your courses correct (y/n)")
if coursechck =='y':
return b
else:
b = {}
print
##Menu Options##
def m1():
a = course()
return a
def m2():
print "Excellent",name,"lets see what courses your enrolled in\n"
print x
return x
###User Input Section###
name = raw_input("Enter Students Name:\n")
a = {}
menu(a)
raw_input("This is the end, my only friend the end")

In your if-elif blocks in the do==1 case, you write m1(), but for the last case, you write x=m1(). You should have the latter everywhere (by typing m1() you only run the function, but do not store the returned x anywhere).
By the way, you can avoid this if-elif confusion using if chck in ["Yes","yes","Y","y"]: