CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonmath
John abey
John abey

Reputation: 35

How do I use arithmetic symbols instead of built in functions

I am making a maths quiz in python and am using 3 operators: add, subtract and multiply. I want to use arithmetic operators but I am finding it difficult because python just reads it as a symbol if i just print it. I use the following code:

import random
import operator
opslist = [          # This is the bit that I want to change, i also want 
    operator.add,    # the operators all on one line
    operator.sub,
    operator.mul
]

num1 = random.randint(1,10)  # These are two random numbers for my quiz
num2 = random.randint(1,10)
ops = random.choice(opslist) #Random operator for my quiz

total = (ops(num1,num2))    # Answer for my quiz

print (num1,ops,num2)       # Random question for my quiz

Here is the ouput:

6 <built-in function add> 5

1.) how do I make the output "6+5"

2.) Also, how do I make the numbers only do small calculations that result in positive answers so the question can never be something like "5-8"

Upvotes: 3

Views: 170

Answers (2)

michaelpri
michaelpri

Reputation: 3651

I would use a dictionary also in your code. This is what I did.

import random
import operator

opslist= {
    operator.add: "+",    # the operators all on one line
    operator.sub: "-",
    operator.mul: "x"
}

num1 = random.randint(1,10)  # These are two random numbers for my quiz
num2 = random.randint(1,10)
ops = random.choice(list(opslist.keys())) #Random operator from opslist keys

total = (ops(num1,num2)) # Answer for my quiz

print(num1,opslist[ops],num2)

When printing the question, the program prints out the sign for the operator. To make it sure that you don't get negative numbers add this under total:

while total < 0:
    num1 = random.randint(1,10)
    num2 = random.randint(1,10)
    ops = random.choice(opslist)

    total = (ops(num1,num2))

Upvotes: 1

JuniorCompressor
JuniorCompressor

Reputation: 20025

You can use a dictionary to map an operation to its symbolic representation. Also you can add some logic for subtraction, to ensure num2 is lower than num1:

import random
import operator
ops = {
    operator.add: '+', 
    operator.sub: '-',
    operator.mul: '*'
}
num1, num2 = random.randint(1, 10), random.randint(1, 10)
op = random.choice(ops.keys())
if op != operator.sub or num2 <= num1:
    print "%d %s %d = %d" % (num1, ops[op], num2, op(num1, num2))

Possible result:

3 - 2 = 1

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions