Asking good questions¶

A good question gets answered in minutes. A bad one sits there while people read it, sigh, and scroll past. Laziness is not a virtue.

The short version¶

Post four things:

1. What you're trying to do.
2. What you did.
3. What happened, including the full error.
4. What you expected instead.

That's it. Most unanswered questions are missing number three.

Post the whole traceback¶

Not the last line. The whole thing, from Traceback (most recent call last) down. The useful information is usually in the middle.

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "shopping.py", line 12, in <module>
    total = sum(prices)
            ^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "shopping.py", line 8, in sum
    return a + b
           ~~^~~
TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'

That tells a helper the bug is in your sum, that one of your prices is a string, and which line to look at. "I get a TypeError" tells them nothing.

Format your code¶

Use a fenced block with a language tag. In Discord, three backticks and the language:

```python
prices = ["4.99", 3.50]
print(sum(prices))
```

Cut it down first¶

Post the smallest program that still shows the problem. Deleting code until the bug disappears tells you where the bug is — you'll often solve it yourself before you finish, which is the best possible outcome.

If your file is 400 lines and you don't know which part is broken, say so, and post the part you suspect.

def split_name(full):
    first, last = full.split(" ")
    return last

print(split_name("Guido van Rossum"))   # ValueError, why?

Say what you already tried¶

It stops people suggesting it again, and it tells them how you think. "I checked the type with print(type(prices[0])) and it's a string, but I don't see where it became one" is a question someone will enjoy answering.

Things that slow you down¶

After you get an answer¶

Say whether it worked. Helpers are debugging blind, and "that fixed it" is the only signal they get.

If it didn't work, say what happened instead.