How to Fix AttributeError in Python

The Python AttributeError is an exception that occurs when an attribute reference or assignment fails. This can occur when an attempt is made to reference an attribute on a value that does not support the attribute.

What Causes AttributeError

The Python AttributeError is raised when an invalid attribute reference is made. This can happen if an attribute or function not associated with a data type is referenced on it. For example, if a method is called on an integer value, an AttributeError is raised.

Python AttributeError Example

Here’s an example of a Python AttributeError raised when trying call a method on an integer:

i = 1
i.append(2)

In the above example, a method is attempted to be called on an integer. Since integers in Python do not support any methods, running the above code raises a AttributeError:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "test.py", line 2, in <module>
    i.append(2)
AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute 'append'

How to Fix AttributeError in Python

To avoid the AttributeError in Python code, a check should be performed before referencing an attribute on an object to ensure that it exists. The Python help() function can be used to find out all attributes and methods related to the object.

To resolve the AttributeError, a try-except block can be used. The lines of code that can throw the AttributeError should be placed in the try block, and the except block can catch and handle the error.

Using the above approach, the previous example can be updated to handle the error:

i = 1
try:
    i.append(2)
except AttributeError:
    print('No such attribute')>
    

Here, a check is performed for the AttributeError using the try-except block. When the above code is executed, the except block catches the AttributeError and handles it, producing the following output:

No such attribute

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