[Tutor] date formatter

[wesley chun]

>                try:
>                        month = int(month)
>                except ValueError:
>                        for eachKey in month_dict.keys():
>                                if month.lower() in eachKey:
>                                        month = month_dict[eachKey]
>                                else:
>                                        month = ""
>        :
> I am having trouble dealing with the case where the user actually types in a month's name instead of the number:
> io at io-station-1 ./chap13 180> python date_format_v01.py
>        :
>    if month.lower() in eachKey:
> AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute 'lower'
>
> Any suggestions?


chris,

good 1st attempt.  all the problems are in the code snippet above. you
only have a few flaws in your program preventing it from working:

a. you "wipe out" the originally entered month (by continually
reassigning the month var)

b. you don't break out of the inner for-loop when u find a match and
end up wiping out the correct match

c. the cause of the exception: the entry for May is a string and not a
1-item tuple. you need a trailing comma "," after "may" to make it a
tuple.  the reason why the error is triggered is because you set a
blank to month for every non-match. so when it gets to may, it makes
this comparison:

>>> "" in "may"
True

because of this, it sets...

month = month_dict["may"]  # so month == 5

so in the next loop iteration, your're trying to do...

5.lower() in eachKey

which of course, fails. fix these problems, and you have a working solution!

best of luck!
-- wesley
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"Python Web Development with Django", Addison Wesley, (c) 2008
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wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
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