Python NameError when var IS most definitely defined

Question

def make_pdf(self):
        self.get_filez()
        self.get_client()
        file_name = self.client_id+\"_\"+self.client_name+\"_\"+self.batch_num
        style =         


        

Answer 1

Try to print file_name after each line, to see if somebody is removing the "file_name" variable from your namespace.

In addition, to be more pythonic (and efficient), use

file_name = "_".join((self.client_id, self.client_name, self.batch_num))

to concatenate strings.

Answer 2

If you're assigning file_name here:

file_name = self.client_id+"_"+self.client_name+"_"+self.batch_num

And you're getting a NameError reporting, that file_name is not defined, then try wrapping the operation in a try..except, to see what is going wrong:

try:
    file_name = self.client_id+"_"+self.client_name+"_"+self.batch_num
except NameError as err:
    print err, 'failed, here is some debug stuff:'
    print "CLIENT ID   =", self.client_id
    print "CLIENT NAME =", self.client_name
    print "BATCH NUM   =", self.batch_num

If any of this is failing, this will set you on the course to finding out why and narrowing down the cause of it.

Answer 3

Mysterious NameErrors may arise from your file containing invisible control characters. On unix machines, you can spot these errors by looking at the output of

cat -A filename.py