Lesson 39 of Learning Python the Hard Way hangs

[Gary Roach]

Hi all

I am new to python but not programming (Although rusty) and am using 
Learning Python The Hard Way. I really like it.

System:
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Debian 8 (jessie)
KDE Desktop

Python 2.7 (It's going to be a while before 2,7 goes away. There is just 
too much code out there.

Ninja-IDE IDE - I like this a lot. I can't seem to find out how to put 
breaks into the code though. The debugger plugin is installed.
--------------

For some reason lesson 39 is hanging and I can't find the cause. A print 
statement inserted into the get_slot function just after bucket shows 
that get_bucket is returning an []. It' not surprising that enumerate() 
doesn't like this very much. I just can't find the cause.


The error message is as follows:
-------------------------------------------
Running: /root/mystuff/mystuff/ex39_test.py (Wed Sep  9 		09:57:51 2015)


Traceback (most recent call last):
   File "/root/mystuff/mystuff/ex39_test.py", line 6, in <module>
     hashmap.set(states, 'Oregon', 'OR')
   File "/root/mystuff/mystuff/hashmap.py", line 50, in set
     i, k, v = get_slot(aMap, key)
TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not iterable


Execution Successful!

NOTE: Line 50 is the - i, k, v = get_slot(aMap, key)- of def set.
--------------------------------------------
The calling code is:
--------------------------------------------
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import hashmap

# creat a mapping of stat to abbreviation
states = hashmap.new()
hashmap.set(states, 'Oregon', 'OR')
--------------------------------------------

The hashmap code is as follows:
--------------------------------------------
def new(num_buckets=256):
     """Initializes a Map with the given number of buckets."""
     aMap = []
     for i in range(0, num_buckets):
         aMap.append([])
     return aMap

def hash_key(aMap, key):
     """Given a key this will create a number and then convert it to
     an index for the aMap's buckets."""
     return hash(key) % len(aMap)

def get_bucket(aMap, key):
     """Given a key, find the bucket where it would go."""
     bucket_id = hash_key(aMap, key)
     return aMap[bucket_id]

def get_slot(aMap, key, default=None):
     """
     Returns the index, key, and value of a slot found in a bucket.
     Returns -1, key, and default (None if not set) when not found.
     """
     bucket = get_bucket(aMap, key)

     for i, kv in enumerate(bucket):
         k, v = kv
         if key == k:
             return i, k, v

     return -1, key, default

def get(aMap, key, default=None):
     """Gets the value in a bucket for the given key, or the default."""
     i, k, v = get_slot(aMap, key, default=default)
     return v

def set(aMap, key, value):
     """Sets the key to the value, replacing any existing value."""
     bucket = get_bucket(aMap, key)
     i, k, v = get_slot(aMap, key)

     if i >= 0:
         # the key exists, replace it
         bucket[i] = (key, value)
     else:
         # the key does not, append to create it
         bucket.append((key, value))

def delete(aMap, key):
     """Deletes the given key from the Map."""
     bucket = get_bucket(aMap, key)

     for i in xrange(len(bucket)):
         k, v = bucket[i]
         if key == k:
             del bucket[i]
             break

def list(aMap):
     """Prints out what's in the Map."""
     for bucket in aMap:
         if bucket:
             for k, v in bucket:
                 print k, v

Very frustrating and probably a stupid error. Any help will be sincerely 
appreciated.

Gary R.