I'm puzzled with the following example, which is intended to be a part of a module, say "tst.py":
a = something(5)
def something(i):
return i
When I try:
->>> import tst
The interpreter cries out:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
File "tst.py", line 11, in <module>
a = something(5)
NameError: name 'something' is not defined
I know that changing the order of the definitions will work, however there are situations in which referring to an identifier before it is defined is necessary, e.g., in crossed recursion.
So I modified my module:
global something
a = something(5)
def something(i):
return i
And this was the answer I got from the interpreter:
->>> import tst
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
File "tst.py", line 12, in <module>
a = something(5)
NameError: global name 'something' is not defined
> And this was the answer I got from the interpreter:
> ->>> import tst
> Traceback (most recent call last):
> File "<stdin>", line 1, in<module>
> File "tst.py", line 12, in<module>
> a = something(5)
> NameError: global name 'something' is not defined
> Do you have any comments?
python executes each line as it encounters it. a=something(5) as you have it attempts to bind the label 'a' to the result of something(5) which has not yet been defined. You seem to want it to compile everything first, then execute but it doesn't work that way.
> I'm puzzled with the following example, which is intended to be a part of a
> module, say "tst.py":
> a = something(5)
> def something(i):
> return i
> When I try:
> ->>> import tst
> The interpreter cries out:
> Traceback (most recent call last):
> File "<stdin>", line 1, in<module>
> File "tst.py", line 11, in<module>
> a = something(5)
> NameError: name 'something' is not defined
> I know that changing the order of the definitions will work, however there are
> situations in which referring to an identifier before it is defined is
> necessary, e.g., in crossed recursion.
> So I modified my module:
> global something
> a = something(5)
> def something(i):
> return i
> And this was the answer I got from the interpreter:
> ->>> import tst
> Traceback (most recent call last):
> File "<stdin>", line 1, in<module>
> File "tst.py", line 12, in<module>
> a = something(5)
> NameError: global name 'something' is not defined
> Do you have any comments?
In Python, "def" is a statement, not a declaration. It binds the body of the function
to the name when the "def" statement is run.
A Python script is, basically, run from top to bottom, and both "def"
and "class" are actually statements, not declarations.
A function can refer to another function, even one that hasn't been
defined yet, provided that it has been defined by the time it is called.
For example, this:
def first():
second()
def second():
pass
first()
is OK because it defines function "first", then function "second", then
calls "first". By the time "first" calls "second", "second" has been
defined.
Jose H. Martinez <josehmartinezz <at> gmail.com> writes:
> You should define the function first and then call it.
> def something(i): return i
> a = something(5)
> If you want a reference to the function somewhere else you can do this:
I know that. That was what I meant by "changing the order of the definitions will work" in my original message.
And I insist in the issue, which is not trivial... In my message I mentioned "crossed recursion", and I delve into it here:
Suppose I have to define two functions, aa, and, bb that are designed to call each other:
def aa():
...
... a call of bb() somewhere in the body of aa
...
def bb():
...
... a call of aa() somewhere in the body of bb
...
Whatever the order of definition of aa and bb the problem remains, one of the two identifiers is not known ...
Most of computer languages have mechanisms to deal with this issue. Is there any in Python or it is in disadvantage with respect to other languages like C++, Java, Perl, PHP, etc.?
On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 2:33 PM, Julio Sergio <julioser...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Suppose I have to define two functions, aa, and, bb that are designed to call
> each other:
> def aa():
> ...
> ... a call of bb() somewhere in the body of aa
> ...
> def bb():
> ...
> ... a call of aa() somewhere in the body of bb
> ...
> Whatever the order of definition of aa and bb the problem remains, one of the
> two identifiers is not known ...
This works just fine in python, exactly as you've written it. What's
the actual problem you're having?
> I know that changing the order of the definitions will work, however there are
> situations in which referring to an identifier before it is defined is
> necessary, e.g., in crossed recursion.
Mutual recursion isn't a problem: the following strange expression of factorial works fine:
def strange_helper(x):
return factorial(x)
def factorial(x):
if x==0:
return 1
else:
return x * strange_helper(x-1)
print factorial(5)
The reason is names are never looked up when the parser sees them, but rather only when execution reaches them. So the fact that 'factorial' hasn't been defined yet when the parser is dealing with 'strange_helper' is fine, because when 'strange_helper' is actually *called*, 'factorial' has been defined.
Here's another example to illustrate, in a different manner that doesn't use this "undefined" thing:
def foo():
print "Inside the first version of foo"
def call_foo():
foo()
call_foo()
def foo():
print "Inside the second version of foo"
call_foo()
This prints:
Inside the first version of foo
Inside the second version of foo
Julio Sergio <julioser...@gmail.com> writes:
> Suppose I have to define two functions, aa, and, bb that are designed
> to call each other:
> def aa():
> ...
> ... a call of bb() somewhere in the body of aa
> ...
> def bb():
> ...
> ... a call of aa() somewhere in the body of bb
> ...
> Whatever the order of definition of aa and bb the problem remains, one
> of the two identifiers is not known ...
What problem? Can you show actual code that we can execute, which
demonstrates the problem?
-- \ “I turned to speak to God/About the world's despair; But to |
`\ make bad matters worse/I found God wasn't there.” —Robert Frost |
_o__) |
Ben Finney
