You want a loop. Try something like this: def julian_leap (y) : if (y%4) == 0: return 1 return 0 Except in reality, leap year is not quite so simple as "every fourth year". Something like: def julian_leap (y) : rtnval = 0 if (y%100)==0: if (y%400)==0: rtnval = 1 elif (y%4) == 0: rtnval = 1 return rtnval 1900 was not a leap year. Kirby