On Wed, 3 Aug 2005, Nathan Pinno wrote:
> I added a plus sign to show Python to add "\n" or a new line to end of
> the file.
Ok, better. So the plus sign was necessary in between:
sitelist[site][1]
and
"\n"
in order to glue them together into one string.
Just for kicks, let's look at another example of a SyntaxError:
######
>>> def square(x):
... return x * x
...
>>>
>>> square 42
File "<stdin>", line 1
square 42
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
######
The problematic line:
square 42
is invalid syntax in the Python language. (Off-topic tangent: it might
not be necessarily one in a different programming language.)
We know what the problem is: we're missing parens, and in an magical ideal
world, Python would also recognize what we meant, and would say something
like:
SyntaxError: you're missing parentheses when you're trying to call the
function. Try square(42) instead.
But too bad Python's error message aren't as helpful. *grin* The best
that Python can do, though, is say:
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
which is sad, but oh well. But at least Python says that there's a
problem, and points at the '42' to say "I didn't expect that there. Can
you check around that area?" which is usually enough of a hint.
I guess I'm trying to say: whenever you see a SyntaxError and apply a fix
to it, also take a retrospective moment to also think about what you can
do next time to avoid it, or how to recognize it if it shows its ugly head
again.
Best of wishes!
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