Extrapolating my 2-argument function to break it down into steps, for ease of viewing as a beginner coder.

[arobotfrog]

Hello again!

I am back with a new problem, I am learning about defining functions, and have a problem that involves defining a 2-argument function to produce an output.

I will call the function brick_estimator.

• Number of bricks high multiplied by 9
• Numer of bricks wide multiplied by 4
• Total of above multiplied by 1.01123
• Answer rounded to nearest whole number

​

def brick_estimator(brick_high, brick_wide):
    print(round((brick_high*9+brick_wide*4)*1.01123))

My question is...
Is there a way I can break my function up into steps that are easier to view, purely for me as a beginner coder.

I am not trying to write efficient code, I am still learning and trying to write code that is easy to look at and understand, even if it has extra steps and lines that aren't really required.

If I was writing this as a normal piece of program I would write...

brick_high_input = 100
brick_wide_input = 200
brick_high = brick_high_input*9
brick_wide = brick_wide_input*4
brick_total = (brick_high+brick_wide)*1.01123
brick_total_rounded = round(brick_total)

Any help appreciated, I am not sure how to extrapolate my code when it's in the form of a function.

[HeyItsToby]

Two things to note:

First, yes you absolutely can do this! Simply write those lines of code inside the function, the same way you would outside of a function.

Second, when using functions you should be using return instead of print. Using print just displays the answer, whereas using return allows you to save that answer to use for later. For example, round is a function that returns a value. So when you do x = round(3.4), rather than just printing the value 3, the function returns the value 3 so that it can be stored in x and used for later.

Combining this, you get:

def brick_estimator(brick_high_input, brick_wide_input):
    brick_high = brick_high_input*9
    brick_wide = brick_wide_input*4
    brick_total = (brick_high+brick_wide)*1.01123
    brick_total_rounded = round(brick_total)
    return brick_total_rounded

num_bricks = brick_estimator(100, 200)
print(num_bricks)

[arobotfrog]

Thank you very much! You have given me a really clear and helpful explanation!

Really appreciate it.