Program to read in numbers and return some analysis (Python)

Programming Algorithms example from a Well House Consultants training course
More on Programming Algorithms [link]

This example is described in the following article(s):
• Finding sum, minimum, maximum and average in Python (and Ruby) - [link]

Source code: amm Module: Q110

# Program to read in numbers and return some analysis
#
# Min, max, sum, average in Python

howMany = 0
sum = 0.0
print "Please press [enter] when you have put in all the data"

while 1:
        says = raw_input("Give me the next number ")
        if says == "": break
        number = float(says)
        howMany = howMany + 1
        sum = sum + number

        if howMany == 1: biggest = number
        if number > biggest: biggest = number

        if howMany == 1: smallest = number
        if number < smallest: smallest = number

print "You gave me",howMany,"numbers"
print "They add up to",sum

if howMany > 0:
        avg = sum / howMany
        print "The average is",avg
        print "The biggest number is",biggest
        print "The smallest number is",smallest
else:
        print "No numbers - cannot give avg / min / max"

#-------------------------------------------------------

""" Sample Output

trainee@kingston:~/py2015$ python amm
Please press [enter] when you have put in all the data
Give me the next number 12
Give me the next number 14
Give me the next number 16
Give me the next number 15
Give me the next number 8
Give me the next number 10
Give me the next number
You gave me 6 numbers
They add up to 75.0
The average is 12.5
The biggest number is 16.0
The smallest number is 8.0
trainee@kingston:~/py2015$

"""

Learn about this subject

This module and example are covered on our public Learning to program in Perl course. If you have a group of three or more trainees who need to learn the subject, we can also arrange a private or on site course for you.

Books covering this topic

Yes. We have over 700 books in our library. Books covering all the subjects we teach are listed here and when you've selected a relevant book we'll link you on to Amazon to order.

Other Examples

This example comes from our "Programming Algorithms" training module. You'll find a description of the topic and some other closely related examples on the "Programming Algorithms" module index page.

Full description of the source code

You can learn more about this example on the training courses listed on this page, on which you'll be given a full set of training notes.

Many other training modules are available for download (for limited use) from our download centre under an Open Training Notes License.

Other resources

• Our Solutions centre provides a number of longer technical articles.
• Our Opentalk forum archive provides a question and answer centre.
• The Horse's mouth provides a daily tip or thought.
• Further resources are available via the resources centre.
• All of these resources can be searched through through our search engine
• And there's a global index here.

Web site author

This web site is written and maintained by Well House Consultants.

Purpose of this website

This is a sample program, class demonstration or answer from a training course. It's main purpose is to provide an after-course service to customers who have attended our public private or on site courses, but the examples are made generally available under conditions described below.

Conditions of use

Past attendees on our training courses are welcome to use individual examples in the course of their programming, but must check the examples they use to ensure that they are suitable for their job. Remember that some of our examples show you how not to do things - check in your notes. Well House Consultants take no responsibility for the suitability of these example programs to customer's needs.

This program is copyright Well House Consultants Ltd. You are forbidden from using it for running your own training courses without our prior written permission. See our page on courseware provision for more details.

Any of our images within this code may NOT be reused on a public URL without our prior permission. For Bona Fide personal use, we will often grant you permission provided that you provide a link back. Commercial use on a website will incur a license fee for each image used - details on request.