basic def / if question

[tryingtolearnpython]

Hi everyone,

I'm very new to Python so my questions may be very basic for most of you.

I am not sure I understand the below function. The part I am having trouble understanding is:

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reactions = nacho_table.column('Reactions')     number_wow_reactions = np.count_nonzero(reactions == 'Wow!')     number_meh_reactions = np.count_nonzero(reactions == 'Meh.')

How does Python know nacho_table is a table and not an array?

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def both_or_neither(nacho_table):     reactions = nacho_table.column('Reactions')     number_wow_reactions = np.count_nonzero(reactions == 'Wow!')     number_meh_reactions = np.count_nonzero(reactions == 'Meh.')     if number_wow_reactions > number_meh_reactions:         return 'Wow!'     elif number_wow_reactions < number_meh_reactions:         return 'Meh.'     else:         return 'Okay!'     # next condition should return 'Meh.'     ...     # next condition should return 'Okay!'     ...   many_nachos = Table().with_column('Nachos', np.random.choice(nachos, 250)) many_nachos = many_nachos.with_column('Reactions', many_nachos.apply(nacho_reaction, 'Nachos')) result = both_or_neither(many_nachos) result

[j.crater]

A table is a class, and as such it has methods (method = function belonging to a class, if you haven't touched OOP part of the story yet, you will understand very well when you get there), such as "column".
If nacho_table wasn't a table, and thus not have "column" method, you would get an error.
This has probably happened to you before, if you tried to do arithmetic operations on "non-compatible" operands, or used some function on a data type, for which it isn't defined.

[tryingtolearnpython]

Hi J.Crater, thanks for the explanation. I think a lot of what you said went over my head :[ . Let me Google what you posted and I will try to make sense of it.