Why is Python Telling Me My Variable is Not Defined?

[katie_3011]

Homework Statement

Hi. So I'm stuck on a few things right now, but the main one is that Python is telling me that one of my variables is not defined. I have stressed over this for about an hour now trying everything to change it, and I cannot seem to find issue.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

My program is large, but shrinking it down to the relevant information:

def main ():
masterlist = getData("facepalm")
#Where getData is another function and facepalm is a textfile

def getData (filename):
textfile = open ("facepalm", "r")
user1 = [...]
#insert list of data from the textfile in order to separate the users from each other
user2 = [...]
masterlist = [[user1], [user2]]
textfile.close ()
#So this whole function works and gets the data
#Then the program proceeds to a login function where the user needs to enter the correct username and password

def usernameAndPasswordInput ():
username = input ("Enter your username: ")
password = input ("Enter your password: ")
for elmt in masterlist:
if elmt [0]==username:
if elmt [1]==password:
return masterlist
else:
...





So, the issue that I'm having is in the for loop which is where python tells me that the global name 'masterlist' is not defined.

Also, if you need me to send you my whole program via email, that's fine. I just didn't want to post all of it due to copy and paste programming.

Any help you can give me on this would be great, thanks.

Katie

 

[jhae2.718]

You can use [ code ] tags to preserve the whitespaces.

To me, it appears that your getData() function doesn't return the masterlist variable. Try adding

return masterlist

at the end of the function.

 

[katie_3011]

So I changed my function so that it returns masterlist at the end, and it still is saying that masterlist is an undefined global variable. Not sure what else to try...

 

[jhae2.718]

Can you post the code in code tags so the spacing is preserved?

 

[LudusRex]

Hi Katie,

Thank you for reaching out for assistance with your Python programming assignment. It sounds like you are having trouble with a variable not being defined in your code. This can be a common issue and can be frustrating to troubleshoot. Here are a few things you can try to help resolve the issue:

1. Check for typos: Make sure that you are consistently using the same spelling and capitalization for your variable name. Python is case-sensitive, so a small typo can cause an error.

2. Scope of the variable: In your code, it looks like you have defined the masterlist variable in the getData() function. This means that it is only accessible within that function. In order to use it in the usernameAndPasswordInput() function, you will need to pass it as a parameter or make it a global variable.

3. Check for indentation errors: Python relies on indentation to determine the scope of functions and loops. Make sure that your code is properly indented, as a small mistake can cause unexpected results.

I hope these tips help you to resolve the issue. If you are still having trouble, please feel free to send me your entire program via email and I will take a closer look.

Best of luck with your assignment!

Sincerely,