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Python Python Collections (2016, retired 2019) Dictionaries Word Count

Valeshan Naidoo
Valeshan Naidoo
27,008 Points
Posted by Valeshan Naidoo
Valeshan Naidoo
27,008 Points

Word count - works on console but not in challenge

Hi, I've tried putting this through the console, and checked for indentation and misalignment etc. For some reason it doesn't seem to pass, the error says I should make sure to place the string in lowercase and split avoiding whitespaces which I have.

wordcount.py 
# E.g. word_count("I do not like it Sam I Am") gets back a dictionary like:
# {'i': 2, 'do': 1, 'it': 1, 'sam': 1, 'like': 1, 'not': 1, 'am': 1}
# Lowercase the string to make it easier.

def word_count(string):
    string.lower()
    counter = {}
    for word in string.split():
        try:
            counter[word]+=1
        except KeyError:
            counter[word]=1
    return counter

1 Answer

Ryan S
Ryan S
27,276 Points
Ryan S
Ryan S
27,276 Points

Hi Valeshan,

Nice solution. Your logic is correct, the only issue is that by calling string.lower() on its own, you aren't permanently changing the string.

Just reassign it to the string variable and everything will work as it is.

string = string.lower()
Valeshan Naidoo
Valeshan Naidoo
27,008 Points
Valeshan Naidoo
Valeshan Naidoo
27,008 Points

Thanks! I'm glad it's a simple fix