In interactive mode, is there a way to signal the end of a statement (such as a class definition) and return to the prompt in order to then instantiate objects?
I've gone through simple exercises - calculations, ifs, loops, while statements. And the interpreter "gets" that the statement is complete.
It seems a simple question, but I've had no luck searching either in stackoverflow or the web generally.
(More generally, are there limitations re: what you can do in interactive mode vs via a script. Or should one be able, in theory, to experiment with all aspects of the language?) Thanks.
You can type anything in the IDLE console. Function and class definitions, like loops, are multi-line statements. A blank line at the IDLE prompt (also at the regular commandline python prompt) terminates a statement.
The main differences between scripts and the python prompt are:
a) In a script, a function or class definition, a loop, or even the inside of a pair of parentheses can contain empty lines; on the IDLE console, a blank line will terminate and execute a statement. E.g., You can't successfully type the following at the IDLE prompt:
def something():
x =0
return x
b) The IDLE console will print the value of any expression evaluated at the command prompt. In a script, you need to use print or the value will disappear.
>>> 2 + 2
4
Note for completeness: A blank line will not terminate a syntactically incomplete statement (e.g., unmatched parentheses). But never mind that.