Getting TypeError when using the sum function in Python

Question

What am I doing wrong to get this error using the sum function in Python:

student_heights =input("Input a list of student heights ").split()
a=sum(student_heights)
print(a)

User input: 12 13 14 15

Error:

Traceback (most recent call last)
File "main.py", line 2, in <module>
TypeError unsupported operand type(s) for +:'int' and 'str'

student_heights is a list of strings. You can't sum() them usefully until you convert them to integers. This will work but depends on error-fee input: a=sum(int(h) for h in student_heights). — BoarGules
– BoarGules, Commented Apr 23, 2022 at 21:01

quamrana · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-23 21:01:35Z

2

The elements in your list are strings (that's how they return from input() from the console). You can, for example, convert them to integers:

a = sum(int(element) for element in student_heights)

Then you can sum them.

quamrana

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answered Apr 23, 2022 at 20:58

idanz

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Comments

debugger · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-23 21:00:16Z

0

your variable student_heights is a type of list. A list accept string values. So we need to iterate through the list.

student_heights = input("Input a list of student heights ").split()
a = sum(int(i) for i in student_heights)
print(a)

answered Apr 23, 2022 at 21:00

debugger

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