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Need help with Bulls and Cows program

+2 votes
asked Feb 19, 2022 by Kokoz (340 points)
reopened Feb 23, 2022 by Kokoz
Hello all,
I am relatively new to programming (started learnig 7-8 months ago from youtube and other sites).
I would like to get an overall evaluation of my code and guidelines on how to make checking if the input is valid easier, because now it doesn't work as I want it to work.

Here you can find my code:  https://onlinegdb.com/rSoywgXsB

Thank you for your time and help :)

1 Answer

+1 vote
answered Feb 22, 2022 by Peter Minarik (86,040 points)
selected Feb 22, 2022 by Kokoz
 
Best answer

What exactly doesn't work the way you'd want it?

I see this in your code (repeated in multiple places):

while not comp_bulls.isnumeric() or len(comp_bulls) != 1 or int(comp_bulls) > 4:
    comp_bulls = input("Invalid input. Please type a number between 1 and 4: ")

It seems an OK check for me. (I'm not a Python developer.) You check if the value of input (, which is a string) is a number indeed, then you cast it to int. I don't think you'd need to check the length is not 1. It would be enough to check if the number is larger than 4 (or perhaps less than your minimum, 0?).

You could move this check into a separate function so you wouldn't need to copy-paste your code.

commented Feb 22, 2022 by Kokoz (340 points)
edited Feb 22, 2022 by Kokoz
Thank you for your answer :)
About the input checker- below the bulls check I have comp_cows check. And after that I check if the sum of both is > 4. But at this point I dont have the previous checks. So the user could input something wich will break the code.
I will try with a check function, as you said, and see if that fixes it. I need to improve my arranging skills, because sometimes I struggle with "if"and "while" statements.
Again, thank you

Edit:
This is how it looks now - https://onlinegdb.com/nyNk5Cz_9
I made valid_comp and valid_hum functions and I think it is a lot better now. I tested it as far as I could and so far it works every time :}
If you have any other recommendations or critiques, please, feel free to tell me.
Thank you
commented Feb 22, 2022 by Peter Minarik (86,040 points)
Just a minor performance hint: you can save a bit of computation time by not turning your "the_input" into actual numbers multiple times for your check but only once:

def valid_comp(the_input):
    value = int(the_input) if the_input.isnumeric() else -1
    if value > 4 or value < 0:
        return valid_comp(input("Invalid input. Please type a number between 1 and 4: "))
    return int(the_input)

Your function and instruction are contradicting. You say that the expected number must be "between 1 and 4", but your code reads: must not be larger than 4 or smaller than 0, that is it must be between 0 and 4.

You should fix that. :)

In "valid_hum", there's not much point in checking if the number is less than 0 when you'll verify if it is contained in the "checking" list.
commented Feb 22, 2022 by Kokoz (340 points)
I fixed all the things.  I just overlooked the "between 1 and 4" thing.. Thank you for pointing it out.
Now, I am going to translate this into pygame..

Thank you very much for your time and help. I truly appreciate it :)
Wish you all the best
commented Feb 23, 2022 by Peter Minarik (86,040 points)
My pleasure!

Keep on learning programming. It can be a great tool at your disposal.

Good luck!
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