if __name__=='__main__': main()

[Andrew Henshaw]

Peter Hansen wrote:

> Andrew Henshaw wrote:
>> 
>> jaime suarez wrote:
>> 
>> > I am trying to run a script from IDLE and
>> > I get an error message saying
>> >
>> >     main()
>> >          ^
>> > SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>> >
>> Does your code look something like this?
>> 
>> if __name__ == '__main__':
>>     main()
>> 
>> def main():
>>     print 'spam'
>> 
>> If so, then you will need to move the definition before its use, like so:
> 
> This would lead to a NameError, not a SyntaxError, so it's unfortunately
> not likely the cause, valid though your advice is.
> 
Very nicely put, thank you.  It's amazing how easy it is to to overlook 
facts when you're "sure" of the answer.

Thanks again,

Andy