Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

Python Python Basics (2015) Shopping List App Refactor

Difficulty completing the challenge

The challenge fails despite the fact that all required code lines are within the main () function (as per the requirements given in the challenge). It gives me "Bummer! Did not get the help message". Went over the lines a number of times and could not find any obvious mistakes. Also tried to run the code outside the browser and it ran without a problem. Could there be any other reason for the challenge to fail? Could this be a bug, or have I simply made a mistake I cannot see? Thank you in advance.

shopping_list.py
def show_help():
    # print out instructions on how to use the app
    print("What should we pick up at the store?")
    print("""
Enter 'DONE' to stop adding items.
Enter 'HELP' for this help.
Enter 'SHOW' to see your current list.
""")

def show_list(shopping_list):
    # print out the list
    print("Here's your list:")

    for item in shopping_list:
        print(item)

def add_to_list(shopping_list, new_item):
    # add new items to our list
    shopping_list.append(new_item)
    print("Added {}. List now has {} items.".format(new_item, len(shopping_list)))
    return shopping_list


def main ():    
    show_help()

    # make a list to hold onto our items
    shopping_list = []

    while True:
        # ask for new items
        new_item = input("> ")

        # be able to quit the app
        if new_item == 'DONE':
            break
        elif new_item == 'HELP':
            show_help()
            continue
        elif new_item == 'SHOW':
            show_list(shopping_list)
            continue
        add_to_list(shopping_list, new_item)

    show_list(shopping_list)

1 Answer

Ryan S
Ryan S
27,276 Points

There is only one minor syntax error in your code. You left a space between "main" and "():" in your function definition. If you fix that it should pass just fine.

Thank you for the reply. Turned out the extra space (or its absence) did not affect the outcome. Eventually I managed to fix this by putting "def main ():" exactly on line 22 (indicated in the challenge itself). That completed the challenge. Found it a bit strange they want people to specifically put the start of the function on line 22 but it worked and I could finally move on :)