How can I make prevent the code from crashing when the user inputs nothing in the function

Question

When I use the function, def problem1_5(age), and instead of inputting a value for age, I run the code, it crashes. How can I improve the code so when I dont input any value for age, it doesn't crash

This is for an online course i am undertaking, and I've already tried putting in a if at the beginning of the code statement but it could be possible that I did it inaccurately.

def problem1_5(age):
    if age < 7:
        print ("have a glass of milk")
    elif age < 21:
        print ("have a coke")
    else:
        print ("Have a martini")

I expect, when I enter nothing, to take me to another line or maybe end the code, but it just crashes.

Possible duplicate of [Asking the user for input until they give a valid response](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23294658/asking-the-user-for-input-until-they-give-a-valid-response) — tripleee, Jan 27 '19 at 08:56

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 27 '19 at 08:50

0

Add a default value for the input argument.

def problem1_5(age=999):
    if age < 7:
        print ("have a glass of milk")
    elif age < 21:
        print ("have a coke")
    else:
        print ("Have a martini")

Now age is 999, unless another value is assigned to it.

answered Jan 27 '19 at 08:50

Fariborz Ghavamian

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thank you very much, just one question, why doesnt it output "have a martini" since it technically falls into the else catagory – user10289295 Jan 27 '19 at 08:58
It does for me! Put a print statement "print(age)" right after "def problem1_5(age=999):" and see what is the value of "age" when you call "problem1_5". – Fariborz Ghavamian Jan 27 '19 at 09:12

How can I make prevent the code from crashing when the user inputs nothing in the function

1 Answers1