How to Allow User Input to Select Specific Options from a List in Python

Learn how to allow user input to select specific options from a list in Python by using list slicing. Follow our simple guide for beginners.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/74159657/ asked by the user 'dan93' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/20304787/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/74159680/ provided by the user 'Rahul K P' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/4407666/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Allowing User Input to Select Options from a List in Python

As a budding Python programmer, you might find yourself very quickly learning how to interact with users by gathering input and providing output. One common task is allowing users to select specific options from a list based on their input. This post will guide you on how to achieve this in a straightforward and effective way.

Understanding the Problem

In your scenario, your task is to ask the user for:

A starting number between 0 and 4

An end number between 5 and 9

You also have a predefined list of colors. The main goal is to display a subset of this list based on the user’s input numbers. A sample of the list is provided below:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Analyzing the Initial Code

You wrote the following code, which includes calls to the random library:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This code requests user input and then chooses one random color from the list. However, it does not slice the list according to user inputs.

The Solution: How to Create a List Slice

Step 1: Remove Random Selection

To achieve your goal, you do not need the randomness in your output. Instead, you want to display all colors between the provided starting and ending indexes.

Step 2: Use List Slicing

Change your code to utilize list slicing, which is a method of accessing a portion of your list. Here's the revised code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

How This Works:

colour_list[start_num:end_num] takes the portion of the colour_list from start_num to end_num, which gives you the desired subset of colors.

Additional Notes

Input Validation: It’s always good practice to validate user inputs to ensure they fall within the specified ranges. This can prevent errors and enhance user experience.

Consider adding simple checks after collecting user inputs to re-prompt if the numbers are outside the expected ranges.

Conclusion

Interacting with users effectively is an essential function of any programming language, and Python makes it particularly easy. By utilizing slicing, you can provide users with the ability to select from a specified range of options in a list. This not only makes your program more interactive but also gives users control over the output.

Keep experimenting with such features, as they are crucial for building more robust applications. Happy coding!

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