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Python

Morse code challenge - my solution works in a Workspace, but not accepted

I tested out my solution, works in a workspace, but does not pass as a solution. Essentially I convert each element of the array then add it to a string, then at the end return the string.

morse.py
class Letter:
    def __init__(self, pattern=None):
        self.pattern = pattern
    def __str__(self):
        i = 0
        outputstr=""
        for item in self.pattern:
            i += 1
            if i < len(self.pattern):
                if item == ".":
                    outputstr=outputstr+"dot-"
                elif item == "_":
                    outputstr=outputstr+"dash-"
            else:
                if item == ".":
                    outputstr=outputstr+"dot"
                elif item == "_":
                    outputstr=outputstr+"dash"
        return outputstr


class S(Letter):
    def __init__(self):
        pattern = ['.', '.', '.']
        super().__init__(pattern)
    def __str__(self): 
       super().__str__()

1 Answer

Hey man, your solution definitely does work. However, you're also adding extra code to the S subclass (the definition of the __str__() method). This code addition also throws an error if you try printing an instance of the S subclass. Long story short, defining it is not necessary because since S is a subclass of the Letter class , it just uses Letter's __str__(). As a side point, while your solution does work, you can achieve similar results using the following more succinct solution:

class Letter:
    def __init__(self, pattern=None):
        self.pattern = pattern
    def __str__(self):
        str_list = []
        for item in self.pattern:
            if item == ".":
                str_list.append("dot")
            else:
                str_list.append("dash")
        return "-".join(str_list)

Thank you, you're right about not needing the str() method in the subclass as it inherits.