Python Question
Finding the average of a list in python
After some research of the other questions already on the site, my program is still kicking back an error. I am wanting to find the average of my list which is taken from a text file.
The text file is layed out like the following:
0
dyl
1
john
2
ryan
3
Chelsey
4
bob
5
dan
This is my code:
a = open("stats.txt","r")
b = a.read().splitlines()
newvar = []
newvar.extend(b[0::2])
avg = sum(newvar)/len(newvar)
print(avg)
The result I get is: TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'
Recommended for you: Get network issues from WhatsUp Gold. Not end users.
Answer Source
The main problem with your code is that after reading your file and parsing the output, newvar is a list of strings:
['0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5']
Since sum will not handle strings - and even if it could, you wouldn't get your desired output - you need to convert the strings to integers. This can be done using a simple list comprehension:
newvar = [int(s) for s in newvar]
You can then use sum as normal:
sum(newvar) / len(newvar)
Which has the output:
2
Recommended from our users: Dynamic Network Monitoring from WhatsUp Gold from IPSwitch. Free Download