[Tutor] Python "well-formed formulas"

[Steven D'Aprano]

On 28/05/13 23:45, Citizen Kant wrote:

> I'm trying to figure out the rules on how to recognize when a combination
> of symbols is considered a well formed expression in Python. Since I
> couldn't find any doc that lists all Python syntax rules

Start by going to the Python website, www.python.org.

Click on the Documentation link on the left hand side:

http://www.python.org/doc/

Decide whether you care about Python 2 or Python 3. I'm going to use Python 3. Click on the "Language Reference" link, http://docs.python.org/3/reference/

Start reading at the beginning, and stop when you reach the end. Feel free to ask specific questions, because unfortunately sometimes the docs make assumptions about the reader's knowledge.


> --or maybe the doc
> is too long to be managed by me right now--, stating all kinds of legal
> combination among its symbols, I had this idea that well formed expressions
> must respond to truth tables.

What do you mean "respond to truth tables"? Do you know what a truth table is?


> Do I am in the correct path? Understanding the
> truth tables (which I'm not very familiarized with) would help me on
> writing Python in a more intuitive way?

No. Truth tables have nothing to do with well-formed expressions.

I'm curious, what chain of reasoning lead you from:

     "I don't understand what 'well-formed expression' means."

to:

     "Therefore it must have something to do with true tables."

?



-- 
Steven