# Solve simple derivative questions

Built my first script and its function is to solve simple derivative questions. How can I improve this code? This is my first time posting.

#This is Simple Derivative Solver
def derivative():
print("This program will give you the first derivative.")
input("Press ENTER to continue...")
cf=int(input("Enter the coefficient of the term..."))
exp=int(input("Enter the exponent of the term..."))
if exp==1 and cf==1:
elif exp<0 and cf<0:
print("The answer is:", abs(exp*cf), "x^", (exp-1))
elif exp>0:
print("The answer is:", exp*cf, "x^", (exp-1))
elif exp==0:
elif exp<0:
print("The answer is:", abs(exp*cf), "x^", (exp-1))
elif cf==0:
elif cf<0:
print("THe answer is:", cf*exp, "x^", (exp-1))
derivative()

• One other thing that is generally a good thing to do is to separate such function into pure function and side-effecting one that uses it. This will simplify testing, readability, memoization etc. – user1685095 May 3 '17 at 18:34

• Trust the math. If exp<0 and cf<0, their product will be positive, so abs is redundant. BTW, in case of elif exp < 0, call to abs leads to an incorrect answer.

• In any case, $(ax^n)'$ always equals to $anx^{n-1}$. Mathematically speaking there are no special cases. There are special cases when it comes to printing:

• $n = 0$: you (correctly) print 0

• $n = 1$: you print x^0, but it is better to omit it altogether

• $n = 2$: you print x^1, but it is better to print just x.

• $n < 0$: consider printing parenthesis around the exponent.

• Separate concerns. The derivative shall only compute the derivative. Input shall be handled separately.

• The call to derivative should be conditionalized:

if __name__ == __main__:
derivative()


This enables you to import your code in another project.

One other thing that is generally a good thing to do is to separate such function into pure function and side-effecting one that uses it. This will simplify testing, readability, memoization etc. Consider this alternative:

def derivative(coefficient, exponent):
if exp == 1 and cf == 1:
return 1,
elif exp < 0 and cf < 0:
return abs(exp * cf), 'x^', exp - 1
elif exp > 0:
return exp * cf, 'x^', (exp-1)
elif exp == 0:
return 0
elif exp < 0:
return abs(exp * cf), 'x^', exp - 1
elif cf == 0:
return 0
elif cf < 0:
return cf * exp, 'x^', exp - 1

if __name__ == '__main__':
print('This program will give you the first derivative.')
input('Press ENTER to continue...')
cf = int(input('Enter the coefficient of the term...'))
exp = int(input('Enter the exponent of the term...'))
derivative(cf, exp)

• Please provide a code review, not a code dump. – Nic Hartley May 3 '17 at 20:11
• @janos I've justified it in my comment. Wether its helpful is for OP to decide. You can delete it or do anything with it, I don't care. I just wanted to help the OP. – user1685095 May 3 '17 at 20:59
• @user1685095 I overlooked your comment, as it's far away from your post. You should include all relevant information in your post. Having that sentence here makes a big difference, I removed the post notice now. – janos May 3 '17 at 21:16