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Python Python Basics (2015) Python Data Types Use .split() and .join()

Margret Murphy
Margret Murphy
1,249 Points
Posted by Margret Murphy
Margret Murphy
1,249 Points

task 3 split() and join() challenge--having difficulties with correctly formatting menu variable.

I break my previous code on this step. it all works correctly until I added line 5 in this step. I have tried various ways of formatting this to no avail.

banana.py 
available = "banana split;hot fudge;cherry;malted;black and white"
available.split(';')
sundaes = available.split(';')
display_menu = sundaes.join(', ')
menu = 'Our available flavors are:'.format(display_menu)

2 Answers

Andreas cormack
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Andreas cormack
Python Web Development Techdegree Graduate 33,011 Points

Hi Margret

You forgot to add the placeholder. You also don't need the second line. See below

available = "banana split;hot fudge;cherry;malted;black and white"
sundaes = available.split(';')
display_menu = sundaes.join(', ')
menu = 'Our available flavors are: {}.'.format(display_menu)

you could also do it in three lines of code like so

available = "banana split;hot fudge;cherry;malted;black and white"
sundaes = available.split(';')
menu = 'Our available flavors are: {}.'.format(",".join(sundaes))
Margret Murphy
Margret Murphy
1,249 Points
Margret Murphy
Margret Murphy
1,249 Points

Thanks, for your explanation, I appreciate it!

Peter Lawless
Peter Lawless
24,404 Points
Peter Lawless
Peter Lawless
24,404 Points

The syntax of the .join() method is backwards. It should be:

display_menu = ', '.join(sundaes)

Check out this post on StackOverflow for a more detailed explanation.

Also, your menu variable needs a designated spot to input the display_menu variable. You could use + for string concatenation or you could use curly braces to mark where the variable should be input to use the .format() method, like:

menu = 'Our available flavors are: {}'.format(display_menu)
Margret Murphy
Margret Murphy
1,249 Points
Margret Murphy
Margret Murphy
1,249 Points

Thanks for replying to me, it's funny how once someone points something out to me I often wonder how I never noticed it in the first place, not always, but in this case, yes. Newbie mistake!