Multiplying a string with a number in python

Question

Hello,

I need a string consisting of a repetition of a particular character.At the python console, if i type :

n = '0'*8

Then n gets assigned a string consisting of 8 zeroes,which is what i expect.

But, if i have the same in a python program (.py file), then the program aborts with an error saying 'can't multiply sequence by non-int of type 'str''

Any way to fix this ?

Thank You

Answer 1

That line of code works fine from a .py executed here, using python 2.6.5, you must be executing the script with a different python version.

Answer 2

You get that error because - in your program - the 8 is actually a string, too.

>>> '0'*8
'00000000'
>>> '0'*'8' # note the ' around 8
(I spare you the traceback)
TypeError: can't multiply sequence by non-int of type 'str'

Answer 3

I could bet you're using raw_input() to read the value which multiplies the string. You should use input() instead to read the value as an integer, not a string.