Moving right along through our in-depth Python Exception Handling series, today we'll be going over the IndexError, in all its glory. The IndexError is one of the more basic and common exceptions found in Python, as it is raised whenever attempting to access an index that is outside the bounds of a list.
In today's article we'll examine the IndexError in more detail, starting with where it resides in the larger Python Exception Class Hierarchy. We'll also look into some functional Python sample code that will illustrate how basic lists are used and improper indexing can lead to IndexErrors. Let's get into it!
All Python exceptions inherit from the BaseException class, or extend from an inherited class therein. The full exception hierarchy of this error is:
BaseException
Exception
LookupError
IndexErrorBelow is the full code sample we'll be using in this article. It can be copied and pasted if you'd like to play with the code yourself and see how everything works.
# main.py
import datetimefrom gw_utility.book import Book
from gw_utility.logging import Loggingdef main():
try:
# Create list and populate with Books.
books = list()
books.append(Book("Shadow of a Dark Queen", "Raymond E. Feist", 497, datetime.date(1994, 1, 1)))
books.append(Book("Rise of a Merchant Prince", "Raymond E. Feist", 479, datetime.date(1995, 5, 1)))
books.append(Book("Rage of a Demon King", "Raymond E. Feist", 436, datetime.date(1997, 4, 1)))# Output Books in list, with and without index.
Logging.line_separator('Books')
log_list(books)
Logging.line_separator('Books w/ index')
log_list(books, True)
# Output list element outside bounds.
Logging.line_separator('books[len(books)]')
Logging.log(f'books[{len(books)}]: {books[len(books)]}')
except IndexError as error:
# Output expected IndexErrors.
Logging.log_exception(error)
except Exception as exception:
# Output unexpected Exceptions.
Logging.log_exception(exception, False)def log_list(collection, include_index=False):
"""Logs the each element in collection to the console.:param collection: Collection to be iterated and output.
:param include_index: Determines if index is also output.
:return: None
"""
try:
# Iterate by converting to enumeration.
for index, item in enumerate(collection):
if include_index:
Logging.log(f'collection[{index}]: {item}')
else:
Logging.log(item)
except IndexError as error:
# Output expected IndexErrors.
Logging.log_exception(error)
except Exception as exception:
# Output unexpected Exceptions.
Logging.log_exception(exception, False)if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
# book.py
import datetimeclass Book:
author: str
page_count: int
publication_date: datetime.date
title: strdef __eq__(self, other):
"""Determines if passed object is equivalent to current object."""
return self.__dict__ == other.__dict__def __init__(self,
title: str = None,
author: str = None,
page_count: int = None,
publication_date: datetime.date = None):
"""Initializes Book instance.:param title: Title of Book.
:param author: Author of Book.
:param page_count: Page Count of Book.
:param publication_date: Publication Date of Book.
"""
self.author = author
self.page_count = page_count
self.publication_date = publication_date
self.title = titledef __getattr__(self, name: str):
"""Returns the attribute matching passed name."""
# Get internal dict value matching name.
value = self.__dict__.get(name)
if not value:
# Raise AttributeError if attribute value not found.
raise AttributeError(f'{self.__class__.__name__}.{name} is invalid.')
# Return attribute value.
return valuedef __len__(self):
"""Returns the length of title."""
return len(self.title)def __str__(self):
"""Returns a formatted string representation of Book."""
date = '' if self.publication_date is None else f', published on {self.publication_date.__format__("%B %d, %Y")}'
return f'\'{self.title}\' by {self.author} at {self.page_count} pages{date}.'
# logging.py
import math
import sys
import tracebackclass Logging:
separator_character_default = '-'
separator_length_default = 40@classmethod
def __output(cls, *args, sep: str = ' ', end: str = '\n', file=None):
"""Prints the passed value(s) to the console.:param args: Values to output.
:param sep: String inserted between values, default a space.
:param end: String appended after the last value, default a newline.
:param file: A file-like object (stream); defaults to the current sys.stdout.
:return: None
"""
print(*args, sep=sep, end=end, file=file)@classmethod
def line_separator(cls, value: str = None, length: int = separator_length_default,
char: str = separator_character_default):
"""Print a line separator with inserted text centered in the middle.:param value: Inserted text to be centered.
:param length: Total separator length.
:param char: Separator character.
"""
output = value# If no value passed, output separator of length.
if value == None or len(value) == 0:
output = f'{char * length}'
elif len(value) < length:
# Update length based on insert length, less a space for margin.
length -= len(value) + 2
# Halve the length and floor left side.
left = math.floor(length / 2)
right = left
# If odd number, add dropped remainder to right side.
if length % 2 != 0:
right += 1# Surround insert with separators.
output = f'{char * left} {value} {char * right}'cls.__output(output)
@classmethod
def log(cls, *args, sep: str = ' ', end: str = '\n', file=None):
"""Prints the passed value(s) to the console.:param args: Values to output.
:param sep: String inserted between values, default a space.
:param end: String appended after the last value, default a newline.
:param file: A file-like object (stream); defaults to the current sys.stdout.
"""
cls.__output(*args, sep=sep, end=end, file=file)@classmethod
def log_exception(cls, exception: BaseException, expected: bool = True):
"""Prints the passed BaseException to the console, including traceback.:param exception: The BaseException to output.
:param expected: Determines if BaseException was expected.
"""
output = "[{}] {}: {}".format('EXPECTED' if expected else 'UNEXPECTED', type(exception).__name__, exception)
cls.__output(output)
exc_type, exc_value, exc_traceback = sys.exc_info()
traceback.print_tb(exc_traceback)
Since the IndexError is raised when dealing with lists, our code sample is setup to handle the basic creation and iteration of a list of Books. The log_list(collection, include_index=False) method iterates through the passed collection list by converting to an enumeration, then outputting each item (with or without the index):
def log_list(collection, include_index=False):
"""Logs the each element in collection to the console.
:param collection: Collection to be iterated and output.
:param include_index: Determines if index is also output.
:return: None
"""
try:
# Iterate by converting to enumeration.
for index, item in enumerate(collection):
if include_index:
Logging.log(f'collection[{index}]: {item}')
else:
Logging.log(item)
except IndexError as error:
# Output expected IndexErrors.
Logging.log_exception(error)
except Exception as exception:
# Output unexpected Exceptions.
Logging.log_exception(exception, False)
To test this out we start by creating a new list and appending a handful of books (from a great fantasy series, by the way) onto it:
# Create list and populate with Books.
books = list()
books.append(Book("Shadow of a Dark Queen", "Raymond E. Feist", 497, datetime.date(1994, 1, 1)))
books.append(Book("Rise of a Merchant Prince", "Raymond E. Feist", 479, datetime.date(1995, 5, 1)))
books.append(Book("Rage of a Demon King", "Raymond E. Feist", 436, datetime.date(1997, 4, 1)))
Now, we need to pass our books list to the log_list(...) method, so we'll confirm that both the basic and index-included outputs work:
# Output Books in list, with and without index.
Logging.line_separator('Books')
log_list(books)
Logging.line_separator('Books w/ index')
log_list(books, True)
As expected, this code works as it should and outputs the following Book details to the console:
---------------- Books -----------------
'Shadow of a Dark Queen' by Raymond E. Feist at 497 pages, published on January 01, 1994.
'Rise of a Merchant Prince' by Raymond E. Feist at 479 pages, published on May 01, 1995.
'Rage of a Demon King' by Raymond E. Feist at 436 pages, published on April 01, 1997.
------------ Books w/ index ------------
collection[0]: 'Shadow of a Dark Queen' by Raymond E. Feist at 497 pages, published on January 01, 1994.
collection[1]: 'Rise of a Merchant Prince' by Raymond E. Feist at 479 pages, published on May 01, 1995.
collection[2]: 'Rage of a Demon King' by Raymond E. Feist at 436 pages, published on April 01, 1997.
Just like arrays and other common collections in programming, Python lists are zero-indexed, so our three elements are only indexed up to a maximum of 2. However, let's see what happens if we try to access index 3 of the books list:
# Output list element outside bounds.
Logging.line_separator('books[len(books)]')
Logging.log(f'books[{len(books)}]: {books[len(books)]}')
As you probably suspect, this raises an IndexError, indicating that the list index is out of range:
---------- books[len(books)] -----------
[EXPECTED] IndexError: list index out of range
File "D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\Python\BaseException\Exception\LookupError\IndexError\main.py", line 23, in main
Logging.log(f'books[{len(books)}]: {books[len(books)]}')
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