# Calculate cumulative salary including raises

Is there a way to make this more pythonic?

def money():
current_salary = float(input("What is your current salary? "))
years = int(input("How many years would you like to look ahead? "))
amount_of_raise = float(input("What is the average percentage raise you think you will get? ")) * 0.01

for years in range(1, years + 1):
current_salary += current_salary * amount_of_raise
print('Looks like you will be making', current_salary,' in ', years,'years.')
money()


• As others have noted, you'll probably want to do some error-checking on your inputs, which means writing a helper function to handle your prompts.
• You're writing a program that handles money and using binary floats, which are designed for scientific calculations. You are likely to run into a variety of small calculation errors! Python has a decimal module for calculations involving money. This will also make your input-handling easier.
• Don't reuse "years" as the iterator in the for loop when you already have a variable with that name. It works here, but only by luck.
• Prefer the format() method to straight concatenation. In this case it allows you to easily print your numbers with comma separators.

For example:

from decimal import *

def get_decimal(prompt):
while True:
try:
answer = Decimal(input(prompt + " "))
except InvalidOperation:

def money():
current_salary = get_decimal("What is your current salary?")
years = int(get_decimal("How many years would you like to look ahead?"))
percent_raise = get_decimal("What is the average percentage raise you think you will get?") * Decimal("0.01")
for year in range(1, years+1):
current_salary += percent_raise * current_salary
line = "Looks like you will be making \${0:,.2f} in {1} years.".format(current_salary, year)
print(line)

• from <module> import * is discouraged because it can cause namespace collisions and gives static analyzers a hard time determining where a name originates from. from decimal import Decimal is better. – Jace Browning Jul 8 '13 at 16:41

I would use a docstring and split the method to even smaller ones

def money():
"""Print Expectations on Salary"""
salary, delta, perc_raise =  get_user_input()
expectations = calculate_expectations(salary, delta, perc_raise)
print_expectations(expectations)

money()


And I would store the expectations in a List

def calculate_expectations(salary, delta_max, perc_raise):
"""Calculate Expectations on Salary"""
[salary*(1+perc_raise/100)**delta for delta in range(1, delta_max + 1)]

• @codesparcle Thank you for the hint. I've edited my answer and renamed the variable to perc_raise. – ovhaag Jul 9 '13 at 10:09

Not sure if that it would make things more pythonic but here are 2 comments to make things less awkward.

You might want to rename your variable name in for years in range(1, years + 1): for something like for year in range(1, years + 1):.

It might make sense to use an additional variable to make things slighly clearer in your calculations:

def money():
# TODO : Add error handling on next 3 lines
current_salary = float(input("What is your current salary? "))
years = int(input("How many years would you like to look ahead? "))
amount_of_raise = float(input("What is the average percentage raise you think you will get? "))
coeff = 1 + amount_of_raise * 0.01

for year in range(1, years + 1):
current_salary *= coeff
print('Looks like you will be making', current_salary,' in ', year,'years.')
money()


Maybe you could write:

Instead of print('Looks like you will be making', current_salary,' in ', years,'years.') you could write print('Looks like you will be making %d in %d years.') % (current_salary, years)

Also, and this one is kind of important, you should check the input before converting it to an int or float (maybe the user goes crazy and throws a string just for the fun of it). You could maybe do that with a try: ... except: block.

And just to be nitpicky, what's your position on quotes? Do you use single or you use double?

• Your first point seems to have missed that he's using the variable years in the output. So your suggestions don't seem to make sense there. – Winston Ewert Jul 6 '13 at 23:09
• You're right, sorry about that. Edited. – user27011 Jul 6 '13 at 23:18
• Hi Paul, I actually do plan to add in a type check as I'm a fan of error checking I just haven't done that yet. I just like to write efficient code and make checks along the way. So regarding the quotes, I don't really have a position. Even though I say that, if I'm right, to quote within there I would have to use double and single quotes so I am probably more likely to use double and then use single as necessary. I'm REALLY new to all of this so I appreciate your input. – Spurnout Jul 7 '13 at 2:57