I ended up using len(sys.argv) > 1 for this particular problem. But I think slicing is closer to the tool I was looking for.
I found a.has_key(k) or "k in a" for dictionaries - but haven't found anything similar for lists. Does it exist? I guess my example from php would technically be a dictionary in python and not a list, it would nice to be able to quickly tell if a list key existed or not. Thanks! Erik Steve Holden wrote: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > I'm sorry about the newbie question, but I've been searching all > > afternoon and can't find the answer! > > > > I'm trying to get this bit of code to work without triggering the > > IndexError. > > > > import shutil, os, sys > > > > if sys.argv[1] != None: > > ver = sys.argv[1] > > else: > > ver = '2.14' > > > > Of course, whenever I run it, I get list index out of range. > > > > I'm coming from the php world where I can do: > > if $_GET['var'] != Null { > > $ver = $_GET['var']; > > } else { > > $ver = '2.14'; > > } > > > > Can anyone tell me how to make this work in python? > > > Well all the advice you've had so far seems good, but of course the > simplest way is just to test the length of the sequence before you try > to address its second element: > > if len(sys.argv) > 1: > ver = sys.argv[1] > else: > ver = "2.14" > > regards > Steve > -- > Steve Holden +44 150 684 7255 +1 800 494 3119 > Holden Web LLC/Ltd http://www.holdenweb.com > Skype: holdenweb http://holdenweb.blogspot.com > Recent Ramblings http://del.icio.us/steve.holden -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list