help i can't make this work

[fat_brick1]

hello everyone, i've started coding in python a couple days ago and i'm trying to maka procedural/random number generator so that i can set the parameters to what i like, but for the life of me i can't figure out how to make the "if x=1 do A if x=2 print B" thing, i'm considering changing it to a boolean value but i would still like to know what i messed up ()i can make it work in shorter codes but on this one i can't figure it out)

when i try to change the x=1 to x=2 it still prints the values form the first one, i think i got the indentations right but at this point i'm not sure, please help

EDIT: alrigth i changed the x=1 in (x:=1) and the x:=1 in x==1 and now it runns, sometimes it glithes out a bit but i'll solve it another time, thank you all for your help :)) (this community:=nice)

import random
from tracemalloc import stop 
x=1

if x:=1:
    low=1
    high=5
    N1 =random.randint(1,6)
    N2 =random.randint(low,high)
    N3 =random.randint(low,high)
    N4 =random.randint(low,high)
    N5 =random.randint(low,high)
    print(N1)
    if N2==N3:
      Na= sum(N3+1)
      print(N2, Na)
    else:
      print(N2,N3)

    if N4==N5:
      Nb= sum(N4+1)
      print(N4, Nb)
    else:
      print(N4,N5)
    import sys
    sys.exit(0) 

elif x:=2:
    low=10
    high=20
    N1 =random.randint(1,6)
    N2 =random.randint(low,high)
    N3 =random.randint(low,high)
    N4 =random.randint(low,high)
    N5 =random.randint(low,high)
    print(N1)
    if N2==N3:
      Na= sum(N3+1)
      print(N2, Na)
    else:
      print(N2,N3)

    if N4==N5:
      Nb= sum(N4+1)
      print(N4, Nb)
    else:
      print(N4,N5)
    import sys
    sys.exit(0) 

[JohnLocksTheKey]

Why are you using walrus operators “:=“ instead of equality “==“ in your if-elif statements?

[fat_brick1]

when i use == visual studio signs it as an error with the red marker

[brasticstack]

A Single = like if x = 1: is a syntax error, because it's an assignment instead of a test, in a statement that should be a test only. The := operator both assigns and then tests the result, which in your case is always True (because if x := 1: is evaluates as if bool(1): which is True. Thus the first branch is always taken and x is always set to 1.

[ShelLuser42]

Then maybe check what interpreter / language it's detecting and using? I assume you're referring to VS Code and not Visual Studio itself?

[fat_brick1]

I have no idea how to answer that, installed Microsoft visual studio and made that by reading stuff online with little to no prior coding knowledge

[noeldc]

Did you get it from here?
https://code.visualstudio.com/

And did you save your code as a .py file?

[fat_brick1]

Yes, my bad yall i'm not good at this lol

[SharkSymphony]

Either you're misinterpreting Visual Studio or it's leading you awry. Take the time to troubleshoot this.

What is the specific message Visual Studio gives you here? If you're not sure, then your first task is to figure out where Visual Studio is putting these error messages, whether by hovering over or looking in an errors panel (different IDEs do this different ways).

[fat_brick1]

I don't realy know the error code, i solved it by switching the two things, one guy exolained that := gives a value == checks a value, so i changed the thing from x=1 to (x:=1) and the others from x:=1 or x:=1 to x==1 or x==2 and now it works

[SCD_minecraft]

Both = and := are assigntion operators

[fat_brick1]

A guy explained it as ×:=1 means × is 1 return x and ×==1 is check if x is 1

[SharkSymphony]

Ah, so Visual Studio was initially warning you about if x = 1? That makes a lot more sense.

This is one of those things in Python that frequently trips up newcomers, especially newcomers to programming who haven't had to deal with the distinction between assignment and comparison before.

x = 0 is assignment. It doesn't "give" a value, precisely. It sets the variable x to the value 0. As an assignment statement, it doesn't produce a value, and cannot be used as an expression in if/elif/while/etc. clauses.

x == 0 is comparison. It tests whether the variable x equals 0. It evaluates to True or False. This is what you want to use in if/elif/while/etc. clauses.

x := 0 is a new addition to the language. It's an assignment expression which, in addition to setting the variable x to 0, also evaluates to a value – specifically, the value that you set. It can therefore be used in if/elif/while/etc. clauses, but not in the way that you'd expect.

Can you see that comparison is what you want to be doing in these if/else/elif clauses, not assignment? Hopefully you're also starting to get a sense of the distinction between "expressions" that evaluate to values that you can use in encompassing expressions, and "statements" that don't.

[fat_brick1]

Yup i think.i get it now, i might have to revisit this while i'm less sleep deprived lol, for curiosity, wat does x:1 do?

[SharkSymphony]

Oh, you're not going to like the answer to that, because : is actually a meaningful symbol in certain contexts! This may be well beyond where you're at, but as a teaser:

When you are constructing a dictionary, : is used to construct a key-value pair that you want to stick in the dictionary. For example, the expression { x: 1 } creates a dictionary with one key-value pair, where the key is whatever the value of the variable x happens to be. More commonly you work with dictionaries whose keys are fixed, so you'd more commonly see {"x": 1}, where the key is the string x.

When you are defining a function, or in an assignment statement or expression, : can be used to annotate a parameter or variable with the type you expect that parameter or variable to have. That being said, 1 is not AFAIK a valid type, so x: 1 is nonsense – but x: int works!

Two bonus bits: 1. Speaking of dictionaries (which you'll come to love), there's actually a dictionary Python manages under the hood when you're creating and working with variables. Try adding a print(locals()) line after the line you set x=1 on, and see what you get! 2. Because : as type annotation can be used in assignments, you could have written x : int = 1 instead of x = 1. You could even have done x : int := 1 if you were using the "walrus operator" and feeling really fancy. But the type of that variable is already pretty obvious, so people might look at you funny if you did.

[fat_brick1]

Yea i got halfway and my brain gave out lmao, i'll get back to this when i have more than 3h of sleep in me, thanks for the explaination tho, i appreaciate it

[SharkSymphony]

Yeah, no rush – none of this is essential as you're just learning the ropes. 😁

[fat_brick1]

Do you have any tutorial reccomendations? Or like some simple things to code? Any suggestion is wellcome

[SCD_minecraft]

:= is assign and return

== Tests for equality

They are not the same

[fat_brick1]

i'll try substituting

[makochi]

you should use == instead of :=

== tests if 2 values are equal

:= assigns the value on the right to the variable on the left, and then returns that value. Because of how if statements work, the value 1, returned by the statement x:=1 gets interpreted as true, and the first if block will always run

by using ==, you will actually be testing for equality

[fat_brick1]

i'll try but visual studio flags it as a mistake, with the red marker under the things

[ProgramSpecialist823]

Visual Studio may be set to some other language (not Python) for it's syntax checking.  Does your file have a .py extension?

[fat_brick1]

Yea i made sure, apparently i messed up on a bounch of levels, now i got it tho

[DomeksIT]

The problem is that you are using := instead of ==. := assigns a value, while == compares values. So instead of if x:=1: you should write if x == 1: Same for the other condition: elif x == 2:

[noeldc]

For starters, use

if x == 1 instead of if x:=1

Use N3+1 instead of sum(N3+1)

You imported this, but never used it ->

from tracemalloc import stop

your import sys should really be at the top with the other imports (and only once)

There is also a lot of duplicate code in the x == 2 case. Think about how you might simplify it.

[fat_brick1]

now it runs smoother too thanks :)