In your projects so far, you’ve used a variable to store a single piece of data, such as a name or a score. But what if you want to store lots of data? In Python, you can use a list to store lots of data in 1 variable:

bigPlanets = [ "jupiter" , "saturn" , "uranus" , "neptune"]

This list of text is also known as an array of text. To access items in the list, you just need to know the position of the item. Run this program to give yourself a better idea of how lists work:

bigPlanets = [ "jupiter" , "saturn" , "uranus" , "neptune"]
print( bigPlanets )
print( bigPlanets[0] )
print( bigPlanets[1] )
print( bigPlanets[2] )
print( bigPlanets[3] )

As you can see, positions start at 0 and not 1, so bigPlanets[1] is “saturn” (the second item) and not “jupiter”.

You can use a list called compliments to store all of the possible compliments for your compliment generator program, and then use choice(compliments) to choose a random compliment for the user:

from random import *

print("Compliment Generator")
print("--------------------")

compliments = [ "Great job on that thing you did. Really super." ,
                "You have really really nice programming skills." ,
                "You make an excellent human."
              ]

#print a random item in the 'compliments' list
print(choice(compliments))
print("You're welcome!")

You could make your compliments a little more interesting, by combining random items from 2 different lists:

from random import *

print("Compliment Generator")
print("--------------------")

adjectives = [ "amazing" , "above-average" , "excellent" ]
hobbies = [ "riding a bike" , "programming" , "making a cup of tea" ]

name = input("What is your name?: ")
print( "Here is your compliment" , name , ":" )

#get a random item from both lists, and add them to the compliment
print( name , "you are" , choice(adjectives) , "at" , choice(hobbies) )
print( "You're welcome!" )

Using what you know about while loops and if statements, you could modify your program to keep giving out compliments until the user decides to quit:

from random import *

#the program loops as long as this variable is 'True'
running = True

adjectives = [ "amazing" , "above-average" , "excellent" ]
hobbies = [ "riding a bike" , "programming" , "making a cup of tea" ]

print("Compliment Generator")
print("--------------------")

name = input("What is your name?: ")

print('''
Menu
  c = get compliment
  q = quit
''')

while running == True:

    menuChoice = input("\n>_").lower()

    #'c' for a compliment
    if menuChoice == 'c':

        print( "Here is your compliment" , name , ":" )

        #get a random item from both lists, and add them to the compliment
        print( name , "you are" , choice(adjectives) , "at" , choice(hobbies) )
        print( "You're welcome!" )

    #'q' to quit
    elif menuChoice == 'q':

        running = False

    else:

        print("Please choose a valid option!")

Remember that the the while loop continues to run as long as the variable running is set to True. If the user inputs q to quit, running is set to False.

Your compliment generator is starting to take shape, but it has a problem: what if your user can’t ride a bike or make a cup of tea? In that case, your compliments won’t be true, and won’t cheer them up!

Let’s modify your program, so that the user can choose to add or remove items from the hobbies list, to allow them to personalise the compliments they receive:

from random import *

running = True
adjectives = [ "amazing" , "above-average" , "excellent" ]
hobbies = [ "riding a bike" , "programming" , "making a cup of tea" ]

print("Compliment Generator")
print("--------------------")

name = input("What is your name?: ")

print('''
Menu
  c = get compliment
  a = add hobby to list
  d = delete hobby from list
  p = print hobbies
  q = quit
''')

while running == True:

    menuChoice = input("\n>_").lower()

    #'c' for a compliment
    if menuChoice == 'c':

        print( "Here is your compliment" , name , ":" )

        #get a random item from both lists, and add them to the compliment
        print( name , "you are" , choice(adjectives) , "at" , choice(hobbies) )
        print( "You're welcome!" )

    #'a' to add a hobby
    elif menuChoice == 'a':

        itemToAdd = input("Please enter the hobby to add: ")
        hobbies.append(itemToAdd)

    #'d' to delete a hobby
    elif menuChoice == 'd':

        itemToDelete = input("Please enter the hobby to remove: ")
        hobbies.remove(itemToDelete)

    #'p' to print the hobbies list
    elif menuChoice == 'p':
        print(hobbies)

    #'q' to quit
    elif menuChoice == 'q':

        running = False

    else:

        print("Please choose a valid option!")

As you can see, you can use append() to add to a list, and remove() to remove an item. Run this program, and personalise the hobbies in the list to suit you. Ask the program for compliments until you’re in a good mood!

When testing the program above, did you run into any problems? At the moment, your compliment generator crashes if you try and remove a compliment that isn’t in the list:

You can fix this problem, by first checking that the item to remove exists in the list. Replace your code to remove a hobby with this code:

#'d' to delete a hobby
    elif menuChoice == 'd':

        itemToDelete = input("Please enter the hobby to remove: ")
        #only remove an item if it's in the list
        if itemToDelete in hobbies:
            hobbies.remove(itemToDelete)
        else:
            print("Hobby not in list!")

Now run the program and try to delete a hobby that isn’t in the list: