How do i fix python errors?

Did you know that even the most experienced programmers make errors in their programs?

However, one of the things that separates them from novices is that they know how to fix an error. Not knowing how to fix an error will not only waste a lot of time, but even worse, it can demotivate you to the point where you feel dumb and give up learning how to program. In this reading, you will learn the secrets of finding and fixing a Python code error.

I like examples, so let’s take a look at one. The Python code below is supposed to create a dictionary and print that dictionary out.

data = ("Name":"John", "Surname":"Smith")
print(data)

However, when executed, the code produces the following output:

File "script2.py", line 1
data = ("Name":"John", "Surname":"Smith")
              ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

That’s the entire error message you got. Now here are the steps on how to understand and solve that error:

1. Read the error from the beginning. The first line tells you the location of the error. So, the error happened in script1.py (that was the name of my script), on line 1. Now you know where the error occurred. For your convenience, you also have the line that caused the error printed out in the second line of the error message.
2. Next, look at the error type. In this case, the error type is a SyntaxError. That means you have written something that doesn’t follow the Python syntax rules. So, now you have an idea of what error you are dealing with. For an overview of possible Python error types, you can look here.
3. Look at the details of the error. On the right of SyntaxError you have the detailed information about the error. In this case, this information is "invalid syntax"and you also have an arrow character pointing upward. That error is pointing to the colon character. The arrow is trying to say that the colon doesn’t belong there.
4. Time to use your logic. Now, the Python interpreter gave you all the information that a robot can give. Now it’s your turn as a human to use your logic to fix the error. So, Python executes a script from top to bottom, line by line, and reads each line from left to right. In this case, it started to read the first line, and it detected round brackets after the assignment operator. That means you are creating a tuple. That’s fine. But then after you write the first item (“Name” in this case). You were supposed to write a comma to separate that item from the next item, but you used a colon instead, so the interpreter is saying that a colon is not syntactically correct to use with round brackets.

Therefore, you should make up your mind to either write a tuple like:

 data = ("Name", "John", "Surname", "Smith")

Or a dictionary of key-value pairs, like:

 data = {"Name":"John", "Surname":"Smith".  

The decision is up to you. In this case, though, I believe the programmer meant to write a dictionary, so I am going to replace the round brackets with curly brackets because I know a dictionary is defined through curly brackets.

That’s the formula to fix an error. Sometimes though errors are much more complex than this, so in that case copying and pasting the last line of the error (SyntaxError: invalid syntax in this case ) on Google will usually show up forums posts with answers on fixing that particular error. However, that should be the last resort, as it’s better to use your knowledge first.

Next Lecture

In this article, we will highlight how to fix syntax errors in python but firstly it’s important to know what are syntax errors?

Syntax errors are defined as violations of rules and regulations to form a layout of a certain logic. Syntax of tools are the structures and the building blocks to program any software. Errors in the syntax are the most common type of occurring errors in any programming language, especially if one is not familiar with it.

Reserved keywords, built-in functions, spaces, punctuations, and other semantics required, to use python’s tools needs to be strictly written as they are advised to. If any violations in the syntax and your program will not compile.

When you write your code, the interpreter compiles and converts the code into a format that can be understood by your machine. The code cannot be construed and parsed if there are any invalid syntax errors.

Syntax errors are detected while the program is being compiled, once any error is found, it will prevent the code from executing. Usually, the errors are self-explanatory and docent needs any special attention to fix them. While some errors are not as corporative.

The good thing about syntax errors is that compiler points out to where the problem might be.

Let’s look at some most common causes of syntax errors.

• Misspelled reserved keywords
• Missing required spaces
• Missing quotes
• Misuse of block statements (if-else, loops)
• Missing assignment operator (=)
• Invalid variables declaration
• Invalid function calling or defining

We are mentioning strategies to fix syntax errors in python below:

The compiler threw an error message as “prin not defined”. It’s not defined as a user-defined or built-in keyword, therefore it confuses the compiler to where this word lies.

Missing required spaces

Unlike other programming languages, python has the requirement for an indented block. That is why many programmers have trouble wrapping this concept in the early stages.

Most languages might’ve executed this code (ignoring the terminators), but not python.  The print statement in line 3 should have a space of a tab.

Missing quotes

When missing quotes in a string, the compiler confuses the purpose of the string and doesn’t identify it. Note how the error is “name hi not defined”, even though it’s supposed to be a string, not a variable. The compiler mistook it as a variable not defined and nowhere guessed the possibility of a string

Notice how the error changed to the literal error when a quote is added. The compiler recognized it as a string and END OF LINE error is thrown.

Misuse of block statements ( if-else, loops)

This is similar to missing spaces in addition to the missing semicolon (:). Python has another rule to use a (:) while ending block statements like loops, if-else.

The error is “invalid syntax”. Not very descriptive, that is why an if-else colon (:) is required to fix this bug. It’s the same with while blocks.

Missing assignment operator (=)

Notice that the compiler is not throwing an error to indicate that the assignment

operator is being misused. But it’s trying to compare the variable game to the string “me”, finding undefined variable.

Invalid variables declaration

There are many ways to violate the variable naming convention. You cannot use special characters to expect underscore (_), or use a number at the beginning variable and many others.

Here is another invalid way to declare a variable.

Invalid function calling or defining

Like any other block statement, function declaration has also a syntax. Proper spaces and use of the colon (:) are necessary. Messing up with the syntax will prevent from execution. The following example shows an executable function without errors.

Function calling has to have the required cautions to prevent bugs. The following error is caused by the argument provided which is not defined in the declaration.

Conclusion

There are many syntax errors in python that are frustrating. Many errors are obvious and easily eliminated while some errors are confusing. In this article, many common syntax errors were discussed with explanations to the cause of their occurrence by performing some code snippets.

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