Error messages

301.18 IDE Skills

IDE Skills — Note 2 of 4

Understand what went wrong.

What you need to know

Python error messages tell you the type of error (e.g. SyntaxError, NameError) and the line number. Reading them carefully is the fastest way to find and fix bugs.

What to know

SyntaxError: typo or missing character (colon, bracket)
NameError: variable not defined or misspelled
TypeError: wrong type used in operation
The line number in the error points to where it happened
Read from the bottom of the traceback up

Code examples

Reading error messages

python

# SyntaxError: Missing colon
# if x > 5
#          ^
# SyntaxError: expected ':'

# Fix:
if x > 5:
    print("big")

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Specification notes for programming are in Paper 2.