In this tutorial, we will be discussing how to fix TypeError in Python. It’s an error that occurs quite often when you’re beginning to familiarize yourself with Python and most of the time, you would get this error when you’re trying to perform an operation/function on the wrong type of object.
Step 1: Understanding TypeError
A TypeError is raised when an operation or function is applied to an object of an inappropriate type. Hence while trying to fix TypeError, it’s imperative to understand why it occurs. This can typically happen when you try to perform an operation between two incompatible types.
Step 2: Identify the Cause
Before you can fix the problem, you must identify the cause. Let’s take an example, consider the code below:
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b = 5 a = '2' result = a + b |
This will throw a TypeError because you are trying to add a string (‘a’) with an integer (‘b’).
Step 3: Fixing the Error
The simplest way to fix a TypeError is by converting all datatypes in an operation to be alike. This can be done using methods like int(), str(), float() and so on, based on the requirement as shown in the below code:
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b = 5 a = '2' fixed_a = int(a) result = fixed_a + b |
Above, we have added a line where we convert the string 'a'
to an integer before performing the addition operation, and therefore, it will not throw a TypeError.
Full Code:
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b = 5 a = '2' fixed_a = int(a) result = fixed_a + b print(result) |
Output:
7
Conclusion:
Remember, Python is a dynamically typed language and it’s one of the reasons you get a TypeError. It could take some practice to avoid these kinds of errors completely. But now you’re better equipped with the understanding of what causes TypeError and how you can easily fix them in your Python code.