On 5 February 2017 at 09:56, boB Stepp <robertvst...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Sat, Feb 4, 2017 at 4:40 PM, David <bouncingc...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> I don't understand why this throws a SyntaxError. If I wrap >>> essentially the same code into a function it works: >> >> From [1]: "When a compound statement is entered interactively, it must >> be followed by a blank line to indicate completion (since the parser >> cannot guess when you have typed the last line). Note that each line >> within a basic block must be indented by the same amount." >> >> Does that help? > > Not really. I do not understand why I can define a function in the > interactive interpreter and nest (apparently) any number of for loops, > if-elif-else constructs, etc., and as long as I get the indentation of > each block correct, it will accept it. But apparently if I start off > with something which is by definition multiline like typing in a for > loop, I cannot continue the multiline statements with something > outside the for loop even if the indentation indicates that the > following statement is not part of the for loop above. I can accept > this, but I do not understand why this can't be parsed correctly by > the interpreter solely based on the indentation and lack of > indentation being used.
I am guessing it is because the interpreter implements only single level of auto-indent, for every top-level compound statement, and it requires that to be terminated with one blank line. It appears that all extra indenting must be done manually. I could be wrong, as I would not work this way. Instead I would use an editor to create the function, and then import it to create the desired initial state which could then be explored interactively. I just tried to give you a quick response. Maybe someone else will give you a more authoritative answer, if there is one. _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
