Question

can I call a global variable inside a function? Eg to update a global list of answers to the number of times a function iterates

Answer 1

Yes. If your variable is created outside the function, then inside the function type

global name_of_variable

like in this paste http://pastebin.com/JA6FJeAb

Answer 2

ah so the "global" command is used to call a global variable inside a function

Answer 3

It tells the interpreter that it should not create the variable in the local scope of that function. Rather, look outside the function, in the global scope, for the variable with this name.