Writing a function in Python

Question

I wrote the following function in Python, however it does not work. I tried different colors from the paint_colors list and the function only returns found if I give pink as an input. Moreover, for example if I type green as input it returns not found, but this color is also in the paint_colors list.. Why does my function not work for the other colors?

paint_colors = ["pink", "white", "red", "green", "brown", "purple", "blue"]
color_input = input("Enter the color you are looking for:")

def function():
    for color in paint_colors:
        if color == color_input:
            return "found"
        else:
            return "not found"
print(function())

You always return the first time through the loop. You should only return "not found" after the loop has finished. — khelwood
– khelwood, Commented May 14, 2020 at 15:42
The solutions below are correct. However, I am almost certain that, at the very least, you want color_input as a parameter of your function, not a global variable (even though these solutions "work"). For example: def function(color_input):. That is a more important point than the syntax that the other answers are helping you with. — Andrew Jaffe
– Andrew Jaffe, Commented May 14, 2020 at 18:25

Samwise · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-14 15:44:13Z

2

An easier way to find whether color_input is in paint_colors is just to say color_input in paint_colors:

def function():
    if color_input in paint_colors:
        return "found"
    else:
        return "not found"

For simple tasks involving a list there's frequently a simpler option than iterating over the entire list!

answered May 14, 2020 at 15:44

Samwise

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Comments

Makdir · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-14 16:12:16Z

1

You check only first element in list.
Make sure that all variables has same type.


def function():
    for color in paint_colors:
        if str(color) == str(color_input):
            return "found"
    return "not found"

paint_colors = ["pink", "white", "red", "green", "brown", "purple", "blue"]
color_input = input("Enter the color you are looking for:")

print(function())

edited May 14, 2020 at 16:12

answered May 14, 2020 at 16:05

Makdir

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Comments

Zoey Hewll · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-15 00:53:46Z

0

The easiest way to do this is

def function():
    return "true" if color in paint_colors else "false"

Here, color in paint_colors is checking if the value color is equal to any of the values in the list paint_colors, effectively doing the same thing as a for loop.

edited May 15, 2020 at 0:53

Zoey Hewll

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answered May 14, 2020 at 15:48

Sowjanya R Bhat

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