Why is my Function being called infinitely?

Question

i = 1
while i != 3:
  if i == 1:
    def main3():
      decision3 = str(input("Do you accept? (Yes or No)"))
      if decision3 == 'No':
          print("narration")
      elif decision3 == 'Yes':
          print("narration")
          i = 2
      else:
          print("Sorry, that is an invalid input. Please re-enter.")
          main3()
    main3()
  else:
      i = 3
      print("narration")

It's supposed to run the code, and if the inout for decision three isn't Yes or No, the user is supposed to re-enter the input. Whenever I run the code, it infinitely asks decision3.

`i = 2` is being set in a different *scope*, it doesn't change the value you're checking outside `main3`. — jonrsharpe, Apr 28 '19 at 08:06
Why are you redefining your function over and over and over and over and over and over and over .... again? — Patrick Artner, Apr 28 '19 at 08:08
@itay that is a really bad solution to fix this convoluted code. — Patrick Artner, Apr 28 '19 at 08:09
How is this a duplicate of that question? It's a duplicate of any question regarding scoping, the issue has nothing to do with `input()` — Alec, Apr 28 '19 at 08:11
@PatrickArtner, just for the sake of understanding scopes :) — ItayBenHaim, Apr 28 '19 at 08:11
@alec_a One duplicate solves the problem he wants to solve - the other 4 should explain the scoping problem at hand in enough detail so he can understand and fix it. — Patrick Artner, Apr 28 '19 at 08:22
If any of the answers solved your question, it's good practice to upvote them and accept the best one. The latter also grants you a small rep bonus :) — Alec, May 14 '19 at 22:58

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 28 '19 at 08:06

The value of i never changes, so main3() is perpetually called.

if i == 1:
    def main3():
      decision3 = str(input("Do you accept? (Yes or No)"))
      if decision3 == 'No':
          print("narration")
      elif decision3 == 'Yes':
          print("narration")
          i = 2  # <-- This does nothing to i outside of main3()!
      else:
          print("Sorry, that is an invalid input. Please re-enter.")
          main3()
    main3()  # <-- This is the problem!

i is only changed within the scope of main3(), not globally.

As a side note, don't cast the return of input() as a string. It already is one.

Why is my Function being called infinitely?

1 Answers1