global name 'self' is not defined

[Evan]

Hi

I have a short script that makes 2 calls to methods in another script
as follows:

import canPlaces as canp

callOne=canp.addMe(3,5)
callTwo=canp.estocStn()

The 2 methods in the second script are:

def addMe(a,b)
sumAb=a+b
return sumAb

def estocStn():
estoc={'lat':29.15,'lon':-15.667,'place':'ESTOC'}
return estoc

Why is it that the first call works fine, but the second tells me
'global name 'self' is not defined'? What I want is to have the
dictionary 'estoc' available in my calling script.

Thanks, Evan

[George Sakkis]

Evan wrote:

Hi

I have a short script that makes 2 calls to methods in another script
as follows:

import canPlaces as canp

callOne=canp.addMe(3,5)
callTwo=canp.estocStn()

The 2 methods in the second script are:

def addMe(a,b)
sumAb=a+b
return sumAb

def estocStn():
estoc={'lat':29.15,'lon':-15.667,'place':'ESTOC'}
return estoc

Why is it that the first call works fine, but the second tells me
'global name 'self' is not defined'? What I want is to have the
dictionary 'estoc' available in my calling script.

Thanks, Evan

Please post examples that reproduce the error; what you posted doesn't
even refer to "self" at all.

George

[Felipe Almeida Lessa]

On 2 Dec 2006 10:42:28 -0800, Evan <ev*******@gmail.comwrote:

Why is it that the first call works fine, but the second tells me
'global name 'self' is not defined'? What I want is to have the
dictionary 'estoc' available in my calling script.

Well, you have not posted the code that is causing the problem,
nowhere in your mail there's a reference to "self".
--
Felipe.

[Evan]

In answer to the 2 replies, I had no references anywhere to 'self'. In
order to post my code I rewrote 2 scripts containing just the relevant
parts of the problem; these work. However, they are identical to my
original code. So I have deleted the 'old' script2 and renamed the new
one, and no problem. I don't know why it worked with one and not the
other when they are identical, but I have what I want now.

Thanks for your replies.

-Evan

[John Machin]

Evan wrote:

In answer to the 2 replies, I had no references anywhere to 'self'. In
order to post my code I rewrote 2 scripts containing just the relevant
parts of the problem; these work. However, they are identical to my
original code.

This is (putting it mildly) somewhat difficult to believe. If true, it
would indicate a rather severe bug in Python. Identical as determined
how?

When you ran your original code and it gave an error, Python would have
told you where the error occurred, on which line of which file, as in
the following example:

C:\junk>copy con noself.py
def foo():
return self
^Z
1 file(s) copied.

C:\junk>\python25\python
Python 2.5 (r25:51908, Sep 19 2006, 09:52:17) [MSC v.1310 32 bit
(Intel)] on win
32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
| >>import noself
| >>noself.foo()
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
File "noself.py", line 2, in foo <<<=== location of error-causing
line
return self <<<=== contents of error-causing line
NameError: global name 'self' is not defined

And you could have told us that information. No, should. Adding to what
others have already said:

When asking a question about an error message:
(a) Provide code (abbreviated if necessary) that causes the error.
Don't retype it; copy/paste the code that you actually ran.
(b) Show the full traceback and error message. Again, use copy/paste.

So I have deleted the 'old' script2 and renamed the new
one, and no problem. I don't know why it worked with one and not the
other when they are identical, but I have what I want now.

No problem? Sorry, it just transformed itself. Here is a precise
definition of the transformed problem: "I don't know why it worked with
one and not the other".

And what you want now doesn't include enlightenment? Thrashing madly at
problems with a sledgehammer may sometimes (but not always) make them
appear to go away faster than a methodical problem-solving approach
would take, but it's rather a short-tem "gain".

HTH,
John

[Bjoern Schliessmann]

Evan wrote:

So I have deleted the 'old' script2 and renamed the new one, and
no problem.

Pity. Next time try using diff (or something similar).

Regards,
Björn

--
BOFH excuse #115:

your keyboard's space bar is generating spurious keycodes.

[Evan]

The problem seems to be with ipython, which I have been using to run
these scripts. My calling script (call.py) is:

import canaryPlaces_test as canp

sum=canp.addme(3,5)
print sum
estoc=canp.estocStn()
print estoc

The problem script is this one, named canaryPlaces_test.py:

def estocStn():
estoc={'lat':29.15,'lon':-15.667,'place':'ESTOC'}
return estoc

def addme(a,b):
sumAb=a+b
return sumAb

The ok script, named canaryPlaces.py, is identical apart from a comment
at the top of one of them. Here is output from 'diff' for the two of
them:

@suse212:~/python/mappingdiff canaryPlaces_test.py canaryPlaces.py
1c1
<
---

# canaryPlaces

evan@suse212:~/python/mapping>

>From the command line I get what I expect calling either

canaryPlaces_test.py or canaryPlaces.py:

@suse212:~/python/mappingpython call.py
8
{'lat': 29.149999999999999, 'place': 'ESTOC', 'lon': -15.667}
evan@suse212:~/python/mapping>

However -Using ipython and calling canaryPlaces.py is fine, but
calling canaryPlaces_test.py gives:

In [97]: %run call
8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
exceptions.NameError Traceback (most
recent call last)

/home/evan/python/mapping/call.py
2
3 sum=canp.addme(3,5)
4 print sum
----5 estoc=canp.estocStn()
6 print estoc
/home/evan/python/mapping/canaryPlaces_test.py in estocStn()
5 return estoc
6
7 def addme(a,b):
8 sumAb=a+b
9 return sumAb
NameError: global name 'self' is not defined
WARNING: Failure executing file: <call.py>

In [98]:
On my system this error is repeatable.

-Evan


Bjoern Schliessmann wrote:

Evan wrote:

So I have deleted the 'old' script2 and renamed the new one, and
no problem.

Pity. Next time try using diff (or something similar).

Regards,
Björn

--
BOFH excuse #115:

your keyboard's space bar is generating spurious keycodes.

[Evan]

Hi Dennis, to answer your questions:

1) So far as I can see ipython generates .pyc files.
2) This morning I ran the scripts, and got the same problem using
ipython as in my earlier post. I then deleted the .pyc file, ran the
calling script and this time it works. I then replaced the .pyc file I
had deleted, expecting to have the problem again, but no.
3) I've tried your suggestion, and it works fine.

A few questions: Why does python use the double underscore (__main__ or
if __name__)? I've only been using python for about 3 weeks, and I see
this syntax a lot, but haven't found an explanation for it so far?
Also, as I understand , the .pyc files should be updated every time you
change and run the equivalent .py file?

Thanks, Evan

[Fredrik Lundh]

Evan wrote:

A few questions: Why does python use the double underscore (__main__ or
if __name__)? I've only been using python for about 3 weeks, and I see
this syntax a lot, but haven't found an explanation for it so far?

to quote the language reference, "System-defined names. These names are
defined by the interpreter and its implementation (including the
standard library)". see:

http://effbot.org/pyref/reserved-identifier-classes

</F>