Documentation

Python Troubleshooting

This is just a selection of common error messages. If you encounter one that isn’t on this list, quickly check your code and search the Internet for it.

Reading the Logs

When your program runs on the robot, the output of print(...) statements and any errors which occur are written to a log file on the USB stick as log.txt.

Syntax Error

This error message appears when you have entered a statement that doesn’t obey the forms of the language. For example:

def foo(s):
	print(s)

foo "Hello World!"  # should be foo("Hello World!")

Error:

File "<stdin>", line 4
    foo "Hello World!"
                     ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

The output shows a problem with the fourth line, where we’ve forgotten to place brackets around the string parameter. The arrow indicates the place where the interpreter thinks the problem is. As you can see, this could often be more helpful.

Other causes of syntax errors to look out for are:

  • Missing colons at the end of defs, ifs, fors, etc.
  • Using the wrong number of = signs (see the Variables section)
  • Missing brackets (e.g. x = 5 * (3+2).
  • For those outside of the U.K., the decimal point is a period (.), not a comma (,)

Name Error

x = 5
print(X)     # wrong case

Error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 2, in <module>
NameError: name 'X' is not defined

This error has occurred because the variable was defined as x, but referenced as X in uppercase. As previously alluded to, Python distinguishes between cases, so these are two different variables.

This error has a traceback. This would list the functions that the error occurred in, if it was inside a function.

Index Error

If you try to access an element of a list that does not exist, you’ll get this error. For example:

a = ["Molly", "Polly", "Dolly"]
print(a[0])
print(a[3])

Error:

Traceback (most recent call in last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: list index out of range

This example illustrates a common cause. As a has three elements, you’d expect it to have a third element. However, in Python, the ‘first’ element is number 0, the ‘second’ is number 1, and so on. So, the last element in the array is actually number 2, and element number 3 doesn’t exist.

Indentation Error

If you forget to indent some code, or mix tabs and spaces, you will get an indentation error. For example:

if x < 5:
do_some_stuff()

Error:

  File "<stdin>", line 2
    do_some_stuff()
                ^
IndentationError: expected an indented block

Type Error

Variables in Python not only have a value, but also a type. This might be a string (some characters), an integer (whole number), a float (number with a decimal point), a robot (your Robot() variable) or something else. When you use these variables, you have to make sure that the types match.

This means that you cannot do something like this:

a = "36"
b = 48
c = a + b

Here a is a string, and adding it to b, which is an integer, is not a valid operation. You either have to turn the a into an integer by doing int(a) or turn b into a string by doing str(b).

d = int(a) + b  # 84
e = a + str(b)  # "3648"

If you make a mistake while interacting with variables of different types, you’ll get a TypeError containing some information about how to fix the problem.