[Tutor] IndexError: list index out of range

[bhaaluu]

Greetings,
I'm working with Python 2.4.3 on the GNU/Linux platform.
I'm currently playing with functions and stacks, and am
using the "Towers of Hanoi" as a test game to play with.
Note: This game is not a recursive programming exercise,
       it is meant to be solved by the player, manually.

The game asks for a number to move, and a stack to move it to.
The game starts out in this state:
=========================
A [5, 4, 3, 2, 1] False
B [] True
C [] True
=========================
Enter number and stack to move it to: 1b

It seems to work fine with my test moves:

1b 2c 1c 3b 1a 2b 1b 1b 4c 1c 2a 1a 3c 1b 2c 1c 5b
Which brings the game to this state:

Enter number and stack to move it to: 5b
5 B
A [] True
B [5] False
C [4, 3, 2, 1] False
=========================

Then, in the second round of test moves, it bombs on the first move:

Enter number and stack to move it to: 1b
1 B
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "funcStack.py", line 73, in ?
    moveNum(num,abc)
  File "funcStack.py", line 52, in moveNum
    popNum(num)
  File "funcStack.py", line 32, in popNum
    if num == stackA[-1]:
IndexError: list index out of range

The second round of test moves are:
1b 2a 1a 3b 1c 2b 1b 4a 1a 2c 1c 3a 1b 2a 1a 5c
The third round of test moves are:
1b 2c 1c 3b 1a 2b 1b 1b 4c 1c 2a 1a 3c 1b 2c 1c
Which should bring the game to this state:
=========================
C [] True
B [] True
A [5, 4, 3, 2, 1] False
=========================

Here is my Python source code:
# funcStacks.py
# passing parameters, returning values, pushing and popping
# 2007-09-19
# b h a a l u u at g m a i l dot c o m
######################################
"""
Pseudocode
 1. Get the number to move and the column to move it to: 1b, 2c, etc.
 2. Find the column the number is in: A, B, or C
 3. Is it the last number (ie. can it be popped?) num == stackA[-1]
 4.   If the number can be popped, pop it!        stackA.pop()
 5.   Else, number is buried: return an error and try again.
 6. Determine if the number can be legally moved to the column requested.
 7.   If the column is empty, move the number:    stackB.append(num)
 8.   If the column has a number, is it larger?   stackB.append(num)
 9.   Else if number in column is smaller,  return an error and try again.
10. Loop.
"""
num = 0
abc = ""
EMPTY = []
stackA = []
stackB = []
stackC = []

def isEmpty(stack):
    if stack == EMPTY:
        return True
    else:
        return False

def popNum(num):
    if num == stackA[-1]:
        stackA.pop()
    elif num == stackB[-1]:
        stackB.pop()
    elif num == stackC[-1]:
        stackC.pop()
    else:
        return "Error: number not available."

def pushNum(num,abc):
    if abc == 'C':
        stackC.append(num)
    elif abc == 'B':
        stackB.append(num)
    elif abc == 'A':
        stackA.append(num)
    else:
        return "Move not allowed, try again."

def moveNum(num,abc):
    popNum(num)
    pushNum(num,abc)
    return stack_status()

def stack_status():
    print "A",stackA, isEmpty(stackA)
    print "B",stackB, isEmpty(stackB)
    print "C",stackC, isEmpty(stackC)

# main
print '='*25
stackA=[5,4,3,2,1]
stack_status()
print '='*25

myMove = raw_input('Enter number and stack to move it to: ')
while myMove != 'Q':
    num = int(myMove[0])
    abc = str.upper(myMove[1])
    print num, abc
    moveNum(num,abc)
    print '='*25
    myMove = raw_input('Enter number and stack to move it to: ')

Remember, I'm learning Python. I haven't studied OOP yet, so
suggestions to make a class out of it won't help me much. =)
-- 
bhaaluu at gmail dot com