Newbie: Functions and class

[Alex Martelli]

Shu-Hsien Sheu wrote:
   ...
>     def build(self, i):
>         self.table[i].setdefault(i, {})

this method has no explicit 'return', so it returns None

>     def search(self, i):
>         self.table[i] = self.build(i)

So, you're assigning None to self.table[i].

>  >>> kk = hittable()
>  >>> kk.search(3)
>  >>> kk.table
> [{}, {}, {}, None]
> 
> I think I can imagine the above code won't work, though couldn't find a
> solution to it.
> 
> What am I missing here?

Just forget that wanton assignment in method search!  Why would you
want to assign anything new to self.table[i], when self.build(i) has
just modified self.table[i] appropriately?!  I.e., change search to:

    def search(self, i):
        self.build(i)

this doesn't have anything special to do with classes -- rather,
with the care and feeding of dictionaries, I'd say:-).


Alex