[Tutor] New programmer, need some help getting started on my first project

[Alan Gauld]

Chris,

>  I do like the way you simplified using the random function,
>  I need to start thinking like that.

It is quite clever but quite a subtle twist for a beginner to think 
of.
However even in your version there is a pattern you should look
out for:

>>     coin = random.randrange(2)
>>     if coin == 0:
>>         heads += 1
>>     else:
>>         tails += 1

If you assign a value to a  variable (ie coin) and then only ever
use that variable in the test of a simple if/else construct then
you can always eliminate the assignment:

if random.randrange(2):
   tails += 1:
else: heads += 1

Bob's trick works because you always get 0 or 1 back, but this
shortcut works for any two way check, even ranges:

if somefunc() > keyvalue:
   # do greater than action
else:
   # do other action

The caveat is where you need to use the test value inside
the if/else and then you do need to explicitly make the
assignment.

>> print "The coin was flipped 100 times and it was heads " 
>> +str(heads)+
>> " times and tails " + str(tails) + " times!"

Also you don't need to use str() in. Python to proint things because
print implicitly calls the string conversion for you.

>>> print 5,'+',4,'=',5+4
5 + 4 = 9

Note that it also inserts spaces between  the valiues. For more 
control
use the string formatting technique that Bob demonstrated.

Looking for these common shortcuts or idioms is a big part of gaining
experience with any language.

Alan Gauld
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/alan.gauld