[Tutor] Syntax error while attempting to type in multiline statements in the interactive interpreter

[David]

On 5 February 2017 at 09:56, boB Stepp <robertvstepp at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 4, 2017 at 4:40 PM, David <bouncingcats at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I don't understand why this throws a SyntaxError.  If I wrap
>>> essentially the same code into a function it works:
>>
>> From [1]: "When a compound statement is entered interactively, it must
>> be followed by a blank line to indicate completion (since the parser
>> cannot guess when you have typed the last line). Note that each line
>> within a basic block must be indented by the same amount."
>>
>> Does that help?
>
> Not really.  I do not understand why I can define a function in the
> interactive interpreter and nest (apparently) any number of for loops,
> if-elif-else constructs, etc., and as long as I get the indentation of
> each block correct, it will accept it.  But apparently if I start off
> with something which is by definition multiline like typing in a for
> loop, I cannot continue the multiline statements with something
> outside the for loop even if the indentation indicates that the
> following statement is not part of the for loop above.  I can accept
> this, but I do not understand why this can't be parsed correctly by
> the interpreter solely based on the indentation and lack of
> indentation being used.

I am guessing it is because the interpreter implements only single
level of auto-indent, for every top-level compound statement, and it
requires that to be terminated with one blank line.

It appears that all extra indenting must be done manually.

I could be wrong, as I would not work this way. Instead I would use an
editor to create the function, and then import it to create the desired
initial state which could then be explored interactively.

I just tried to give you a quick response. Maybe someone else will
give you a more authoritative answer, if there is one.