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To: python-list@python.org
From: Peter Otten <__peter__@web.de>
Subject: Re: Doctest failing
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Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 13:47:04 +0200
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Tigerstyle wrote:

> I'm strugglin with some homework stuff and am hoping you can help me
> out here.
> 
> This is the code:
> 
> small_words = ('into', 'the', 'a', 'of', 'at', 'in', 'for', 'on')

>     new_title = []
>     title_split = title.strip().lower().split()
>     for word in title_split:
>         if title_split[0] in small_words:
>             new_title.append(word.title())
>         elif word in small_words:
>             new_title.append(word.lower())
>         else:
>             new_title.append(word.title())

The logic of the for-loop is flawed; the expression 

title_split[0] in small_words

will always evaluate to True if the first word is a "small word", even when 
the loop is already past the first word. You can work around that with a 
flag along these lines

first = True
for word in title_split:
    if first:
        # special treatment for the first word
        first = False
    else:
        # put checks for all words but the first here
    new_title.append(fixed_word) # assuming you have stored the titlecased
                                 # or lowercased word in the fixed_word
                                 # variable