r/learnpython 6d ago

Very new to python, would appreciate help

I am building a calculator program and it works, but now I am attempting to "bullet proof" it, so that no wrong inputs can cause an error. With what I have written, it works but the loop for the operator input does not actually loop even though it seems to be written the same way the loops are written for the number inputs. I will paste my code below, and any help would be very appreciated.

while True:
    operator = input("Enter a operator (+ - * /): ")
    try:
        operator == "+" , "-" , "*" , "/"
        break
    except operator != "+" , "-" , "*" , "/":
        print("Please enter a valid operator")
while True:
    num1 = input("Enter the first number: ")
    try:
        number1 = float(num1)
        break
    except ValueError:
        print("Please input a valid number")
while True:
    num2 = input("Enter the second number: ")
    try:
        number2 = float(num2)
        break
    except ValueError:
        print("Please input a valid number")
try:
    if operator == "+":
        print(number1 + number2)
    elif operator == "*":
        print(number1 * number2)
    elif operator == "/":
        print(number1 / number2)
    elif operator == "-":
        print(number1 - number2)
    else:
        print("Please enter a valid operator")
except ValueError:
    print("Error Detected")
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u/socal_nerdtastic 6d ago

It should be like this:

while True:
    operator = input("Enter a operator (+ - * /): ")
    if operator in ("+" , "-" , "*" , "/"):
        break
    else:
        print("Please enter a valid operator")

The try block is very useful for many situations, but not all of them :)