FAQ: Scope - Modifying Scope Behavior: global Statement

[discourse-admin]

This community-built FAQ covers the “Modifying Scope Behavior: global Statement” exercise from the lesson “Scope”.

Paths and Courses
This exercise can be found in the following Codecademy content:

Learn Intermediate Python 3

FAQs on the exercise Modifying Scope Behavior: global Statement

There are currently no frequently asked questions associated with this exercise – that’s where you come in! You can contribute to this section by offering your own questions, answers, or clarifications on this exercise. Ask or answer a question by clicking reply () below.

If you’ve had an “aha” moment about the concepts, formatting, syntax, or anything else with this exercise, consider sharing those insights! Teaching others and answering their questions is one of the best ways to learn and stay sharp.

Join the Discussion. Help a fellow learner on their journey.

Ask or answer a question about this exercise by clicking reply () below!
You can also find further discussion and get answers to your questions over in Language Help.

Agree with a comment or answer? Like () to up-vote the contribution!

Need broader help or resources? Head to Language Help and Tips and Resources. If you are wanting feedback or inspiration for a project, check out Projects.

Looking for motivation to keep learning? Join our wider discussions in Community

Learn more about how to use this guide.

Found a bug? Report it online, or post in Bug Reporting

Have a question about your account or billing? Reach out to our customer support team!

None of the above? Find out where to ask other questions here!

[cuadroscody]

In what scenario(s) would we prefer to create a global variable within a local scope? To me, making a global variable within the global namespace seems more straightforward and saves one line of code (using the ‘global’ keyword). Any thoughts are appreciated.

to recap: This lesson ends with “In summary, the global keyword is used within a local scope to associate a variable name with a name in the global namespace. This association is only valid within the local scope when global is used.”

[debadai]

I agree with you; I think it’s just easier to assign the variable directly in the global namespace. However, I believe declaring the variable in a local namespace and then adding that line to make it accessible from the global namespace could have its reasons in terms of readability. Maybe if you are reading someone else’s code and suddenly you find a variable which seems to have no relationship with anything you have read so far (and that will be used in the future in a function), it could create more confusion. You could just create it inside the function where it has its context, and make it accessible in the global space.