Python loops with running total

[mr.me]

I have a homework problem that I can't figure out, can someone help

--Create a function called sums that will prompt the user to enter integer values (either positive or negative). The function should keep separate running totals of the positive values and the negative values. The user should be allowed to continue entering values until he/she enters a zero to stop.Here's what I got and it doesn't work

number=int(raw_input("Enter and a positive or negative integer: "))
def sums(number):
      while (number>0):
            posnumber= int(raw_input("Enter another number or 0 to quit: "  ))
            number=number+posnumber
            print "The positive total is", number
           
      while (number<0):
            negnumber=int(raw_input("Enter another number or 0 to quit: "  ))
            number=number+negnumber
            print "The negative total is", number

it just runs the loop under the first iteration, I'm confused as to what to do to correct it

 

[NascentOxygen]

One of the instructions is The function should keep separate running totals of the positive values and the negative values. Your code is not doing this. Once you fix this shortcoming, your other problem might vanish.

Perhaps you misunderstand the [probable] description. Here's what I reckon one detail is: input any number, for each input your program must examine whether that input is positive or negative and add the number to a running tally of positives or negatives, respectively.

Your sequence of steps is so wrong that I think you should put it aside and start again. Write your code so that the line "int(raw_input("Enter a number ... or 0 to quit: " " occurs only once. That is very important for good programming.

 

[mr.me]

nascent said:"Write your code so that the line "int(raw_input("Enter another number or 0 to quit: " " occurs only once. That is very important for good programming."

I don't know how to do that

 

[NascentOxygen]

You start off by writing a short program which does the basis of what you ultimately need for your final program. The essential part is to loop through statements which achieve the following outcomes:

:loop
... prompt for a number
... if the number is 0 then prepare to quit the loop
... print that number

Use just one loop for inputting and processing all the numbers. Only when you have this much working properly should you start to flesh it out to do what the specifications ask.

 

[LudusRex]

Hello,

First, it's important to understand the purpose of a loop in programming. A loop allows us to repeat a set of instructions until a certain condition is met. In this case, we want the loop to continue until the user enters a 0 to stop.

In your current code, you have two separate while loops that will only run once. This is because the condition for the first loop is number>0, and once the user enters a positive number, the condition is no longer met and the loop ends. The same goes for the second loop with the condition number<0.

To solve this problem, we can use a single while loop with an if statement inside to check for the positive or negative value. Here is an example:

def sums():
pos_total = 0
neg_total = 0
number = int(input("Enter a positive or negative integer: "))
while number != 0:
if number > 0:
pos_total += number
else:
neg_total += number
number = int(input("Enter another number or 0 to quit: "))
print("The positive total is", pos_total)
print("The negative total is", neg_total)

sums()

In this code, we first initialize two variables to keep track of the positive and negative totals. Then, we use a while loop to continuously prompt the user for a number until they enter 0 to stop. Inside the loop, we use an if statement to check if the number is positive or negative, and then add it to the appropriate total. Finally, we print out the totals at the end.

I hope this helps you understand how to approach this homework problem. Remember, loops can be tricky but with practice and patience, you'll be able to solve them. Good luck!