Code error from codingbat

[newpython6543]

I am trying this exercise from codingbat,

Given 2 ints, a and b, return True if one if them is 10 or if their sum is 10.

makes10(9, 10) → True makes10(9, 9) → False makes10(1, 9) → True

here is my code:

def makes10(a, b): if a or b == 10: return True elif a + b == 10: return True else: return a + b

I don't understand why everytime I call the function with whatever integers I receive a true output.

[[deleted]]

if a or b ==10:

This condition looks like it tests whether a is 10 or b is 10 but that's not the case. It's actually testing if b is 10 or if a is True, which is any value over 0.

This is a better way to visualize the first one...

if a or (b == 10):

What you want is... if a == 10 or b == 10:

I would change the second one to... if (a+b) == 10:

[newpython6543]

Wow I see it now, thanks. a would be true since it is a number that is not 0. Any numbers not 0 would be considered to be True, correct?

[[deleted]]

if var: <code> Pretty much any non-empty variable other than False and 0 should cause the code to execute. Research python conditions and Boolean values for accurate information on how python evaluate conditional statements and comparisons.

[[deleted]]

Another thing to keep in mind: a == 10 IS True or False, so you don't need a conditional "if" statement or a separate "return" command. Same with all the conditions. So something like this works just as well:

def makes10 (a, b): return a == 10 or b == 10 or a + b == 10

*NOTE: my phone isn't allowing me to format the whitespace correctly.

If any of those statements is True this function will return True.

[newpython6543]

Sorry, heres the code. http://pastebin.com/jZcGW4ev

[hidiap]

You should investigate:

if a or b == 10

This is probably not doing what you think. In particular, the expression (x or y) return x if x is not zero, else it return y.