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Alpha Bet
277 PointsWhat is the benefit of defining a function in this scenario?
In Returning Values Craig defines a function split_check, but this doesn't seem to be particularly useful for the context. After defining the function you still need to define two additional variables (total_due and number_of_people) for the input values and then a third variable (amount_due) to get the output of the split check function so it can be put it into the print function.
It would be shorter to simply say:
import math
total = float(input("What is the total? "))
number_of_people = int(input("How many people? "))
amount_due = math.ceil(total / number_of_people)
print("Each person owes £{}".format(amount_due))
Is there a benefit to defining the split_check function that I'm not understanding?
1 Answer
Travis Alstrand
Treehouse Project ReviewerGood question Alpha Bet ! 👋
The main benefit of defining the split_check function is reusability.
If you ever need to calculate how to split a bill in other parts of the program, or even in a completely different program, you can just call split_check instead of rewriting the calculation each time. It also makes your code easier to read and maintain, since the logic is wrapped in a single, clearly named place instead of being buried inside other code.
In your example, the one-off version works fine for a quick script, but functions really shine when you want to avoid repeating yourself and keep your logic organized.
I hope this helps and makes sense! 😃