python - multiple strings in word

Question

I'm trying to do this -

word = 'hello'

if 'a' or 'c' in word:
    continue
elif 'e' in word:
    continue
else:
    continue

It only works if I don't have the or. The string is a single word.

See the answer below I accepted. I needed to know if both letters were in a word to do something. — whoisearth, Apr 23 '15 at 18:35

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:47

6

This:

if 'a' or 'c' in word:
    continue

Is equivalent to:

if ('a') or ('c' in word):
    continue

And 'a' is always True in boolean context, therefore continue is always performed due to short-circuiting.

Solution:

if any(c in word for c in ('a', 'c')):
    continue

answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:47

Łukasz Rogalski

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`continue` cannot be used without loop – Haifeng Zhang Apr 23 '15 at 15:50
@haifzhan "It only works if I don't have the or." - I assumed it's an extract of full script, where `continue` makes sense. – Łukasz Rogalski Apr 23 '15 at 15:52
Huh. Amazing the holes in your knowledge you find when you read questions. I've never run across `any` in use before and only vaguely remember learning about it. – Deacon Apr 23 '15 at 16:02

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:46

1

Replace if 'a' or 'c' in word: with if 'a' in word or 'c' in word. Generally you'll have to provide that in word for each character you are testing. You could also use any, but since your if is simple, you can just use the format above.

answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:46

codingEnthusiast

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:48

1

1) It should be if 'a' in word or 'c' in word:

2) continue will raise SyntaxError, because you didnt use it in loop. If you dont do anything, you can use pass other than continue

answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:48

Haifeng Zhang

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:48

0

You can use the any built-in function like so:

any(i in ('a', 'c') for i in word)

answered Apr 23 '15 at 15:48

Malik Brahimi

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python - multiple strings in word

4 Answers4