CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonfunction
Jackie_SAFC
Jackie_SAFC

Reputation: 7

error saying variable is not defined in a function in python

I am trying to write a simple function to take a char out of a user input in python but keep getting the following error:

    Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:/Users/chris/Desktop/Python_Stuff/replace.py", line 4, in <module>
    new= old.replace("*","")
NameError: name 'old' is not defined

This is my code:

def remove_char(old):
    old =input("enter a word that includes * ")
    return old #do I even need this?
new= old.replace("*","")
print (new)

Thanks in advance for the help!

Upvotes: 0

Views: 440

Answers (2)

overcomer
overcomer

Reputation: 2374

You can not use a method in old variable, because you never defined this variable before. (old is defined and visible just in the function, not outside). You do not really need a function to input the word. Try this:

old = raw_input('enter a word that includes * ')
new= old.replace("*","")
print (new)

Upvotes: 0

ForceBru
ForceBru

Reputation: 44828

Your function's returning a value. Please do not ignore it.

def remove_char(old):
   old =input("enter a word that includes * ")
   return old

new= remove_char(old).replace("*","") 
print (new)

Yes, you may not need return:

old=None
def remove_char():
   global old
   old =input("enter a word that includes * ")

remove_char() # NOTE: you MUST call this first!
new= old.replace("*","") 
print (new)

Note: I agree with @jonrsharpe - the second example shows one of the ugliest ways to achieve what you want! You asked whether you can omit return - yes, but you'd better do not.

Upvotes: 1

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