Python: Problems calling a function which is inside another called function

Question

I'm trying to call a function which is contained inside of another function. I know that each of the interior functions work individually because I tested them prior to combining them in rollDice().

When I try to run the code, it consistently tells me that basically every variable (d20, d10, etc.) is undefined even though I have the rollDice() function running.

How can I get my interior function (d6(roll6)) to output the value that it's been assigned after having the rollDice(roll) function?

def diceRoll(roll):

    def d20(roll20):
        import random

        roll20 = random.randint(1,20)

        print("The roll is ", roll20)

        return roll20

    def d12(roll12):
        import random

        roll12 = random.randint(1,12)

        print("The roll is ", roll12)

        return roll12


    def d6(roll6):
        import random

        roll6 = random.randint(1,6)

        print("The roll is ", roll6)

        return roll6

####### example of other part of code

def generateDungeon():
    diceRoll(roll)

    numberOfRooms = roll6

    print("The roll was: ", roll6)

    if numberOfRooms > 1:
        print("There are ", numberOfRooms, "rooms in this dungeon.")

    else:
        print("There is only 1 room in this dungeon.")

    return numberOfRooms

You haven't included your calls to d6(), etc, so we cannot deduce what is going on. Furthermore we would need to see the exact text of the error message. And as a style note, you do not need to define roll6, etc, as parameters. — Ken Y-N
– Ken Y-N, Commented Apr 9, 2019 at 2:29

iz_ · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-09 02:37:04Z

3

By executing the outer function, you aren't executing any of the inner functions. Their variables are out of scope, anyway.

If you really wanted to use a function in a function (which is unnecessary in this case, by the way), you could make your code much more succinct by using a closure. Also, it's easier just import your packages once at the top:

import random

def diceRoll(roll):
    def helper():
        r = random.randint(1, roll)
        print("The roll is", r)
        return r
    return helper

Then, to use this, call the return value of diceRoll:

numberOfRooms = diceRoll(6)()

Note that this whole thing can be done like this:

def diceRoll(roll):
    r = random.randint(1, roll)
    print("The roll is", r)
    return r

And called like:

numberOfRooms = diceRoll(6)

answered Apr 9, 2019 at 2:37

iz_

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