python tuple print issue

Question

print '%d:%02d' % divmod(10,20)

results in what I want:

0:10

However

print '%s %d:%02d' % ('hi', divmod(10,20))

results in:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<pyshell#6>", line 1, in <module>
    print '%s %d:%02d' % ('hi', divmod(10,20))
TypeError: %d format: a number is required, not tuple

How do I fix the second print statement so that it works?

I thought there was a simpler solution than

m = divmod(10,20)
print m[0], m[1]

or using python 3 or format().

I feel I'm missing something obvious

from: stackoverflow.com/questions/1455602/… print "this is a tuple: %s" % (divmod(10,20),) — sihrc
– sihrc, Commented Jul 25, 2013 at 20:58
I think was a good question. Nothing obvious about it! Pretty subtle, in my opinion. Very informative. — Jiminion
– Jiminion, Commented Jul 26, 2013 at 1:10

Martijn Pieters · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-25 21:06:58Z

5

You are nesting tuples; concatenate instead:

print '%s %d:%02d' % (('hi',) + divmod(10,20))

Now you create a tuple of 3 elements and the string formatting works.

Demo:

>>> print '%s %d:%02d' % (('hi',) + divmod(10,20))
hi 0:10

and to illustrate the difference:

>>> ('hi', divmod(10,20))
('hi', (0, 10))
>>> (('hi',) + divmod(10,20))
('hi', 0, 10)

Alternatively, use str.format():

>>> print '{0} {1[0]:d}:{1[1]:02d}'.format('hi', divmod(10, 20))
hi 0:10

Here we interpolate the first argument ({0}), then the first element of the second argument ({1[0]}, formatting the value as an integer), then the second element of the second argument ({1[1]}, formatting the value as an integer with 2 digits and leading zeros).

edited Jul 25, 2013 at 21:06

answered Jul 25, 2013 at 20:55

Martijn Pieters

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2 Comments

SethMMorton Over a year ago

+1 Because .format is SO MUCH BETTER than the old % method, if for no other reason than your example right here.

Jiminion Over a year ago

((('hi',) + divmod(10,20))) also works. So tuples must unwrap themselves or something....

Stephan · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-26 02:30:15Z

1

print '%s %d:%02d' % ('hi',divmod(10,20)[0], divmod(10,20)[1])
                       ^         ^                 ^
                       1         2                 3

Parentheses with commas indicate tuples, parens with concatenation (+) will return strings.

You need a 3-tuple for 3 inputs as shown

edited Jul 26, 2013 at 2:30

answered Jul 25, 2013 at 20:55

Stephan

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12 Comments

Stephan Over a year ago

@MartijnPieters you're faster than me, hold on

Martijn Pieters Over a year ago

You were a little too fast to post and not try first. :-)

RussW Over a year ago

'hi' + divmod(10,20) -> TypeError: cannot concatenate 'str' and 'tuple' objects

Stephan Over a year ago

@RussW I know, What i said doesn't contradict that

Stephan Over a year ago

@Jim giving up is the smart thing to do when MP posts an answer, but I STRIDE FORTH with a UNIQUE and much less optimal answer!

|

Paulo Bu · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-25 20:57:27Z

0

You're passing a string and a tuple to the format's tuple, not a string and two ints. This works:

print '%s %d:%02d' % (('hi',) + divmod(10,20))

There is a tuple concatenation.

answered Jul 25, 2013 at 20:57

Paulo Bu

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