Date using input

[Dave Angel]

flebber wrote:
> On Sep 24, 11:10 pm, flebber <flebber.c... at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> On Sep 24, 10:58 pm, Dave Angel <da... at ieee.org> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>     
>>> flebber.c... at gmail.com wrote:
>>>       
>>>> I am using python 2.6.2, I haven't updated to 3.0 yet. No I have no
>>>> class or instructor, I am learning this myself. I have Hetlands book
>>>> "Beginning Python Novice to Professional and online documentation
>>>> books so Dive into Python, python.org etc.
>>>>         
>>>> Using the SPE editor.
>>>>         
>>>> I have currently only fully written basic psuedocode to give me a
>>>> basic framework to guide myself.
>>>>         
>>>> #Basic pseudocode
>>>> #Purpose to get raw input and calculate a score for a field of options
>>>> and return that
>>>> #score in a set in descending order.
>>>> #Multiple sets sould be written to the doc
>>>>         
>>>> #Obtain date
>>>> #Check if txt file with same date exists. If yes apphend to results to
>>>> file.
>>>> #Obtain location
>>>> #Set Dictionary
>>>> #Event number
>>>> #Obtain set size
>>>> #Prompt first entry
>>>> #First Entry Number
>>>> #First Entry Name
>>>> #Set Blocks to obtain and calculate data
>>>> #Block 1 example - Placings Block
>>>> #Obtain number of events competed in
>>>> #Obtain how many times finished first
>>>> #Ensure this value is not greater than Number of Events
>>>> #Number of Firsts divide by Events * total by 15.
>>>> #Obtain Second finishes
>>>> #Ensure this value is not greater than Number of Events
>>>> #Number of Seconds divide by Events * total by 10.
>>>> #Continue On with this
>>>> #Block 2 - Lookup coach Dict and apply value.
>>>> #Obtain Surname of Coach
>>>> #Lookup Coach File and Match Name and get value.
>>>> #Blocks continue gaining and calculating values.
>>>> #create txt file named using date
>>>> #Sum Values Block1 + Block2 etc
>>>> #Print to file event number and field with name number individual
>>>> Block totals and Sum Total
>>>> #Arranged in descending Sum Total.
>>>> #Prompt are there any more events? Yes return to start
>>>> #Apphend all additional events to same day file seperated by blank line.
>>>>         
>>> How many of these steps have you attempted actually coding?  Seems to me
>>> your first two steps are just string manipulation, and you only need to
>>> use the datetime module if you need to validate.  In other words, if the
>>> user specifies the date as 31/09/2009, you might want to later bounce
>>> back to him with a complaint that September only has 30 days.
>>>       
>>> So the first task is to accept input in the form   ab/cd/efgh   and
>>> produce a string  efgh-cd-ab.log   which you will then create as a text
>>> file.  And if the file exists, you'll append to it instead of
>>> overwriting it.   Can you do that much?
>>>       
>>> DaveA
>>>       
>> Trying but haven't got it working, thats why I started to try and use
>> datetime module.
>>     
>
> Surely getting it tottally mixed up
>
> from datetime import date
> def ObtainDate(params):
>   date =aw_input("Type Date dd/mm/year: %2.0r%2.0r/%2.0r%2.0r/%4.0r
> %4.0r%4.0r%4.0r")
>  print date.datetime(year-month-day)
>  #Check if txt file with same date exists. If yes apphend to results
> to file.
> date.append(datetime
>
> and
>
> def ObtainDate(params):
>     date =aw_input("Type Date dd/mm/year: ")
>     date.format =%4.0s%4.0s%4.0s%4.0s-%2.0s%2.0s-%2.0s)
>     print date.format
>
>
>
>   
As Tim says, first thing you want to do is rename that variable.  You've 
defined two symbols with the same name.

Then I'd ask what that %2.0r....  stuff is inside the prompt to the user.

Do you understand what kind of data is returned by raw_input() ?  If so, 
look at the available methods of that type, and see if there's one 
called split() that you can use to separate out the multiple parts of 
the user's response.  You want to separate the dd from the mm and from 
the year.

Once you've split the text, then you want to recombine it in a different 
order, and with dashes between the parts.  If I were at your stage of 
experience, I'd not bother with the datetime module at all.  Just see if 
you can rebuild the string you need, assuming the user has entered a 
valid 10-character string.

Later you can go back and figure out the datetime logic.

DaveA