Question

I tried writing this code:

def smaller(x, y):
    if x > y:
        print(y) 
    else:
        print(x) 

print(smaller(2, 3))

I got this result:

>>>
2
None

Where did the None come from? What does it mean?

---

See also

_{The accepted answer explains the importance of returning a value from the function, rather than printing it. For more information, see What is the purpose of the return statement? How is it different from printing?.}

_{To understand the None result itself, see What is a 'NoneType' object?.}

_{If you are printing inside the function in order to see multiple values, it may be better to instead collect those values so that they can be printed by the calling code. For details, see How can I use `return` to get back multiple values from a loop? Can I put them in a list?.}

Answer 1

It’s the return value of the function, which you print out. If there is no return statement (or just a return without an argument), an implicit return None is added to the end of a function.

You probably want to return the values in the function instead of printing them:

def jiskya(x, y):
    if x > y:
        return y
    else:
        return x

print(jiskya(2, 3))