[Tutor] Variables and Functions

[Devon MacIntyre]

Hi,

I have two functions, 'new_sudoku' and 'play_game'. In new_sudoku, I have a
pre-determined puzzle (I wasn't able to get a randomly generated puzzle
working), as a matrix in the variable 'puzzle'. I imported the 'copy' module
and made a deep-copy of 'puzzle' to make 'new_puzzle', which randomly has
85% of the digits replaced by an empty string. Now that 'new_puzzle' is only
15% filled with numbers, I use turtle to place the numbers on a grid that I
made (also with turtle). After the grid and 'new_puzzle' are generated, I
ask the player if he/she wants to begin playing. If yes, then the function
'play_game' is started. Here, I'm going to let the player choose spots to
input their own numbers to fill in the board. My problem is that I can't get
the variables 'puzzle' and 'new_puzzle' into that function (to be compared)
because they are not globally defined; only in 'new_sudoku' function. Here's
some selected code from my program:

def swap_row(puzzle,row1,row2):
    temp = puzzle[row1]
    puzzle[row1] = puzzle[row2]
    puzzle[row2] = temp

def new_sudoku():
    puzzle = [[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9], \
              [4,5,6,7,8,9,1,2,3], \
              [7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6], \
              [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1], \
              [5,6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4], \
              [8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6,7], \
              [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1,2], \
              [6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5], \
              [9,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]]
    num_of_swap = random.randint(10,20)
    for i in range(num_of_swap):
        row1 = random.randint(0,8)
        row2 = random.randint(0,8)
        if row1/3 == row2/3:
            swap_row(puzzle,row1,row2)
    new_puzzle = copy.deepcopy(puzzle)
    sparseness = 0.85
    for i in range(9):
        for j in range(9):
            if random.uniform(0,1) < sparseness:
                new_puzzle[i][j] = ''

def play_game():
    '''
    Here is where I need the variables 'puzzle' and 'new_puzzle' to be
brought.
    '''

I read about the 'class' module, but am not sure on it's execution. I really
appreciate any time spent on my (simple) problem.
Thanks in advance.

On Nov 28, 2007 4:18 PM, Kent Johnson <kent37 at tds.net> wrote:

> Devon MacIntyre wrote:
> > Hi,
> > Just wondering, how would I get a variable out of one function and into
> > another?
>
> I don't understand your description of your situation, maybe you could
> show a little code as a simple example?
>
> The usual way to get a variable out of a function is to return a value
> from the function. The usual way to get a variable into a function is to
> pass a parameter. If you want tighter coupling than that maybe you
> should make the functions into methods of a class and make the variables
> into instance attributes.
>
> HTH,
> Kent
>
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