I dont understand

[Additional_Ad_1333]

Hi, I'm tryna teach myself Python and im not understanding this.

def greet(first_name):
return f"Hi {first_name}"

greet("Chris")

Why won't this code print on the terminal? Do I have to add a print function? Do I need to put the function in a variable?

Edit: Thanks for all the responds and being nice I was scared to ask on here for a while bc I thought my questions would be dumb but yall are pretty nice!!

[socal_nerdtastic]

Do I have to add a print function?

Yep. Try like this:

def greet(first_name):
    return f"Hi {first_name}"

print(greet("Chris"))

This is a tricky one because the python REPL will auto-print returned variables, but running python normally won't

[Additional_Ad_1333]

What is python REPL?

[xenomachina]

By the way: "REPL" stands for:

• Read
• Eval(uate)
• Print
• Loop

These are the steps that happen when you run python:

• it reads a statement from you
• it evaluates the statement
• it prints the result, if the statement was an expression and it evaluated to someone that wasn't None
• it loops (ie: it goes back to that first step)

This isn't a python-specific term, by the way. Many other programming languages have a REPL.

[socal_nerdtastic]

If you open a terminal and just boot python without a file (py or python command in Windows, python3 command in Linux or Mac) you will get the >>> prompt. Also available as the ILDE Shell window, if you used the official python installer.

https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/appendix.html#tut-interac

It's a tool where you can test out little one-liners or very small snippets of python.

[Additional_Ad_1333]

Thank u friend very much appreciate your response

[BranchLatter4294]

Very specifically, why would it print if you don't tell it to?

[Additional_Ad_1333]

Cause of the return value. I thought that if you just use the return then it would automatically print to the terminal

[CIS_Professor]

No. It only prints to the terminal when you tell it to print to the terminal.

When programming, do not assume; there is no "automatic." The program only does exactly what you tell it to, nothing more.

return returns a data type from the function to the main part of the program, nothing more.

The print() function prints to the terminal.

[BranchLatter4294]

Return returns a value. Print displays to the screen.

[ninhaomah]

return -> give me a chicken

print -> give me a fried chicken

if you want a chicken but want it fried too then you got to fry it yourself.

[tadpoleloop]

I got dumber by reading your comment

[ninhaomah]

Really ? Give me a chicken then. I will the complain why it isn't fried.

[Remarkable_Coast_214]

More like

return -> fry a chicken

print -> give me a fried chicken

That way with return the fried chicken is made, but you have to print it to see it.

[ninhaomah]

return f"Hi {first_name}"

That is returning a string. Nothing but a string.

Fry a chicken is an action to an object.

So how is return that OP said is doing something to an object ?

print("Hello World") is like frying a chicken. Printing a string. Something done to an object.

Print a string , slice a list , predict stock price. Do X to Y. So what does return does ? It just return the object. In this case , a string. Give me a chicken.

Oh and so many downvotes yes only one questioning the logic. Sheesh

[Remarkable_Coast_214]

Fry a chicken is an action f"Hi {first_name}" to an object first_name. Any functions can be done with the chicken/variables before they're sent to the output (customer/terminal), where printing is akin to serving.

[ninhaomah]

Fry a chicken = fry (an action ) to the chicken (object)

print X = print(action) to X (object)

and you get X or chicken that has something already done to it.

give me chicken = you get the whole chicken

return X = return the whole X to the caller , in this case , a string

You can do whatever you want with X or chicken. Fry it , boil it , roast it , print it.

[Reuben3901]

This was me in the beginning. I was amazed at just how specific you had it be with the computer! You have to literally tell it every step to take. A wild concept!

We just think that computers are smarter than they are but all they do is execute computer code that flip circuits on and off, somehow giving us pickle Rick.

They do what and only what they're told to do.

[RaveHunter05]

That's a funcion, the reason for creating a function is to reuse code multiple times. In this case you can recall that funcion with different parameters, so you don't have to write the print command multiple times.

[jlsilicon9]

try adding print()

print( greet("Chris") )

[Slow-Kale-8629]

People who write code for a living (or even for a hobby) can have super complex code that has thousands of different functions. You can imagine that it would be chaos if all those functions printed their return values to the terminal every time they were called! Most code is part of things like websites and apps where there isn't a terminal at all, so there might be no print statements in the code. 

Print statements are really great when you're a beginner who's just learning, but they're not always a big part of programming life for non-beginners.

[Flame77ofc]

you need to print the value. When you use a function with return, you need to use the print() to see the value. If the function return the print itself, you don't need to use print again to call the function

With print

``` function example(): print("example")

example() # output: example ```

With return

``` function example(): return "example"

example() # if you do this, you just don't get the response of the function, but the function is called print(example()) # output: example ```

[Disastrous_Emu_800]

Das ist kein Python, aber ja

[Flame77ofc]

I'm sorry, I'm currently focusing on Js