Python Exercise Solution & More

So, I wanted to post my solution to Finger Exercise 2.4 on pg. 20. This problem was a little bit harder than the first, but I was able to use some knowledge from Codecademy's online Python course, as well as some info accumulated from Stack Exchange.

Finger exercise: Write a program that asks the user to input 10 integers, and then prints the largest odd number that was entered. If no odd number was entered, it should print a message to that effect.

My Solution:

""" Write a program that asks the user to input 10 integers, and then prints the
largest odd number that was entered. If no odd number was entered, it should
print a message to that effect. """

# Ask user for input
raw_user_input = raw_input("Please enter ten integers with spaces between them: ")

# Create a list of integers called 'answers' (split based on spaces)
answers = raw_user_input.split(' ')

# create an array for the odd numbers
odd_numbers = []

# Iterate through each item in 'answers' array
for i in answers:
    # convert type str to type int
    i = int(i)

    # find out if i is an odd number using modulo
    if i % 2 != 0:
        # append odd numbers to their array
        odd_numbers.append(i)

if len(odd_numbers) == 0:
    print "There are no odd numbers in this list."
else:
    # print max odd number
    print "The largest odd number in this list is", max(odd_numbers)

The hardest part of this problem for me was figuring out how to use the "for" statement. I looked back in Codecademy's course, and I thought that this made the most sense.
I also added the knowledge about arrays, or lists, in Python, putting all of my odd numbers into a list before selecting the max.
I found the .split(' ') method on Stack Exchange, and read some documentation on it in order to allow the user to enter 10 separate numbers at once.
And I also found the max() method on Stack Exchange, read up on it, and decided it was the best option for finding the maximum odd number.

Beginning My Journey Into Coding

I began this blog so that I can document my journey into learning how to code. I have used Codecademy and various other sites along my journey thus far, but I haven't been able to really use that information to fully develop anything yet.

I decided that I would devote myself fully to learning Python, since it seems to be a good introductory language to learn. I have a hard copy of "Introduction to Computation and Programming using Python" by John V. Guttag, and I plan to work through this book in order to fully learn how to program in Python.

You are welcome to join me on my journey as I document my way through being a code newbie.

I have completed the first two chapters of this book. Here are the second exercise and my solution thus far:

2.2 Finger Exercise, Pg. 16

Write a program that examines three variables --- x, y and z --- and prints the largest odd number among them. If none of them are odd, it should print a message to that effect.

My Solution:

""" Write a program that examines three variables --- x, y, and z --- and
prints the largest odd number among them. If none of them are odd, it should
print a message to that effect. """

def largest_odd_number(x, y, z):
    print x, y, z
    if x % 2 != 0 and y % 2 != 0 and z % 2 != 0:
        if x > y and x > z:
            print x
        elif y > x and y > z:
            print y
        elif z > x and z > y:
            print z
        elif x == y and y == z:
            print x
    elif x % 2 != 0 and y % 2 != 0 and z % 2 == 0:
        if x > y:
            print x
        else:
            print y
    elif x % 2 == 0 and y % 2 != 0 and z % 2 != 0:
        if y > z:
            print y
        else:
            print z
    elif x % 2 != 0 and y % 2 == 0 and z % 2 != 0:
        if x > z:
            print x
        else:
            print z
    elif x % 2 != 0 and y % 2 == 0 and z % 2 == 0:
        print x
    elif x % 2 == 0 and y % 2 != 0 and z % 2 == 0:
        print y
    elif x % 2 == 0 and y % 2 == 0 and z % 2 != 0:
        print z
    else:
        print "none of these are odd numbers"

Notes:
I know that  my solution to this problem is probably not the most efficient, but it is what I produced as a newbie to programming. It seems to work fine, but it seems kinda long and clunky. Alas, I hope to get better with time. :)
I should say that I downloaded Python 2.7.9, as stated in the book, and I am using the standard IDLE program to write and debug my code. It seems fairly easy to use thus far.
I did use some info that I learned from Codecademy's Python track in this solution, how to create a function. I wanted to use a function in this problem because it seemed more proper. But I really am not sure.
I am gonna write another blog post later to document my solution of the next exercise.