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Philip Ondrejack
4,287 PointsWhy are we never given the argument name?
It really bothers me when you ask to create a function "that takes a string" and you don't tell us to create a string or give us the name for the one that you created. It constantly throws me off. I strongly dislike this part of Treehouse. Just tell me what the damn name of the string is supposed to be. What am I supposed to call split on? What am I supposed to call lower on?
Maybe I'm missing something incredibly easy, regardless I find this very confusing.
3 Answers
boog690
8,987 PointsYou are missing something incredibly easy. YOU can name the string ANYTHING you want. It is YOUR function. YOU choose the argument names and call them. For example, if we want to create a function "that takes a string" and reverses it:
def reverse_string(anything_i_want):
return anything_i_want[::-1]
This is standard in programming and is not only a part of Team Treehouse.
P.S. It's nice to be nice. No need to curse.
Kenneth Love
Treehouse Guest TeacherSorry that that wording throws you off. Like @boog690 pointed out, it doesn't matter what you call it. I'm pretty sure we talked about that in Python Basics, but maybe not. And, like Brittany Kozura mentioned, these aren't meant to be absolute beginner courses.
If you're really interested in an absolute beginner level course, let us know and we might end up producing something like that.
Also, feel free to send me any/all feedback. You have my email address!
Philip Ondrejack
4,287 PointsIf it's a standard part of programming and this is a beginner's course then it should be clearly spelled out when arguments are introduced. I have never taken a programming or computer science course.
boog690
8,987 PointsWell, if you ever have any other troubles in the future, feel free to ask here, no matter how "simple" the question is. I'll be around the Python (and sometimes Java) forums trying to answer as many questions as possible. Welcome to programming and best of luck to you!
Philip Ondrejack
4,287 PointsI appreciate the help. Thanks for taking time out for me.
Brittany Kozura
17,143 PointsHey Philip, A beginner level course if for someone starting out in a language, not necessarily an "absolute beginner". On the Python track, this is a couple of sections into the Python language so it assumes you've learned some of basic fundamentals. There are earlier courses on the Python track, so I suggest starting with some of those. To find it, head to the "tracks" page and you can view the track course list even without changing your own track.
In general, for every language on every programming course on any site, unless a variable or an argument is specified, you may choose whatever you like as long as it 'returns' the correct value upon input. Most of the time, the end result is all that matters, and you can even use different techniques to get there!
Let us know if you have any more questions!