How to explain the int() function to a beginner

Question

It was suggested I cross post this question from the main Stack Overflow site as it may be of interest here too

I am tutoring a neighbour's child and we were exploring the int() function before using it with input() - which returns a string. We tried the following:

int(5)
int(5.5)
int('5')
int('5.5')

The first three returned 5 as expected; the last one threw the error

ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 10: '5.5'

Given the behaviour of the first three lines how do I explain the error to a 14-year old (background = speaks 4 languages but is poor at maths)?

UPDATE

C# exhibits the same behaviour: Convert.ToInt32("5.5"); throws the error

Input string was not in a correct format.

Answer 1

First the reason for the failure. Function int wants either a number or a string that represents an int (from the Python 3 docs). The first part covers your first two examples and the second part covers your third.

However '5.5' isn't a "string that represents an int", hence the failure. It is, of course, a string that represents a number, but that isn't the same thing.

But

int(eval('5.5'))

will return 5 since eval will return a number that int will be able to work with.

Now, how to explain it. There are two options (at least). The first (worst) is just to tell the kid that the world isn't magic and int only works for some things, but doesn't handle everything.

But it makes more sense to treat it as an exercise in careful reading of specifications. Read what the specification does say and what it doesn't say. Specifications are meant to be precise.

You can make it a lesson about reading the manual when you get confused, or writing test cases to explore the range of possibilities.

You can make it an lesson about searching for an alternate solution (i.e. eval) when something you try fails.

You can make it a lesson about "when you are older and get to design things, spend some time getting it right." I haven't explored whether there is logic behind the decision to not include such a case as your fourth example, but I doubt that it was an oversight.

---

See the note by @ctrl-alt-delor. Function eval permits the evaluation of arbitrary code, not just simple expressions. It shouldn't be used, for example, with unexamined user input strings. It is safe, however, provided that you have control over the argument in some way.

Answer 2

It is important to discuss the type system early, as it is the whole basis upon which objects interact. The type system is the species structure of the Python object ecosystem.

Strings interact with string behaviors: + is concatenation, [] is substringing, and *(string,int) causes repetition.

Numbers, in the presence of arithmetic operators, do arithmetic.

The moral: type determines context and therefore regulates the interactions between objects.

The int() cast expects an object that is convertible into an integer. If it is passed a floating point number, it truncates the number towards zero. If it is passed a numerical string containing a valid parseable number, it extracts the number value from the string. If it is passed a boolean, it converts true to 1 and false to 0.

If it is passed something that is not a parseable into a number, it throws a ValueError.

Answer 3

I agree with @Buffy, but also.

• int(42) "42" → 42 is one step: it converts string to int or throws.
• int(7.2) 7.2 → 7 is one step: it converts float/real to int (and rounds).
• int("7.2") "7.2" → 7.2 → 7✗ is two steps: convert string to float, and float to int.
• int("36/5") What about this? Should it be able to do this.

The problem that is causing the confusion is that we have effectively two functions. int taking a string, and int taking a float. They both do different things.