I'm on Problem set 3, problem 1. The question seems easy enough, but I keep getting stuck in a loop. For some reason I can't add to my start variable. Probably something simple, but if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. Here's my code:

def countSubStringMatch(target,key):
start=0
count=0
ans = find(target,key,start)
while ans != -1:
start = start +ans +len(key)
count = count + 1
return count

Question

I'm on Problem set 3, problem 1. The question seems easy enough, but I keep getting stuck in a loop. For some reason I can't add to my start variable. Probably something simple, but if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. Here's my code:

def countSubStringMatch(target,key):
    start=0
    count=0
    ans = find(target,key,start)
    while ans != -1:
        start = start +ans +len(key)
        count = count + 1        
    return count

anonymous · Answer

The problem isn't your start variable, it's your ans variable. Your while loop will continue as long as ans != -1. Since ans is only assigned once (and not inside your loop) the value of ans does not change. Therefore if the program enters the loop initially (because ans is not -1) it will never be able to leave it (because ans will never be -1). Perhaps you want to add an additional call to find inside your loop?

anonymous · Answer

Thanks, that was it. Got it working now. I guess sometimes the little things cause the biggest problems.