Python TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method Solution

With the help of Python slicing, we can access a sequence of items or characters from the List, Tuple, and String data objects. The slicing uses a similar syntax to indexing, where it accepts the index value as a range from where the sequence should be returned.

The index number that we specify in the slicing of a List must be a valid integer number. Else, we receive the Error TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method . This error is very common when we use a float number instead of an integer for an index value.

In this Python error-solving tutorial, we will discuss the following error statement in detail and also walk through a common example scenario that demonstrates this error.

Python Error TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method

Python slicing only supports valid index numbers, and if we use a string or float number for the indices range, we receive the " TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method " Error.

Error Example

x = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"]

#first 4 items using slicing
print(x[0:4.0])

Output

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "main.py", line 4, in 
    print(x[0:4.0])
TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method

The above error statement has two sub statements Exception Type and Error Message

1. TypeError
2. slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method

1. TypeError

The TypeError is a standard exception that is raised by Python's interpreter when we try to perform an invalid operation on a data object. This error also raises when we pass a wrong data type to a method or function. In the above example, for slicing that accepts only integer values, we have passed a float value that triggers the TypeError exception.

2. slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method

The slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method is the error message that tag along with the TypeError exception. This error message is telling us that we are not passing an integer value for the indices while slicing the List, tuple or String.

Common Example Scenario

This error statement only occurs in a Python program when we accidentally use an inappropriate data type for the slicing values.

Example

Suppose we have an ordered list of the top 10 Python IDEs, and we need to write a program that accepts a number from the user 1 to 10, and print that many IDEs on the console output. Let's start with initializing the top 10 Python IDE's List.

top_ides = ["PyCharm",
            "VSCode",
            "Atom",
            "Spyder",
            "Thonny",
            "Jupyter Notebook" ,
            "IDLE",
            "PyDev",
            "Wing",
            "Eric"
            ]

Now write the input function that accepts the range up to which the user wants to access the IDEs.

n = input("Enter N(0 to 10) for the Top N Ide's: ")

slice the IDE list for the top n ides

#slicing to get top n ide's
top_n_ides = top_ides[:n]

Now Print the top n ide's

print(f"The top {n} Python IDE's are")
for ide in top_n_ides:
    print(ide)

Output

Enter N(0 to 10) for the Top N Ide's: 5
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "main.py", line 16, in 
    top_n_ides = top_ides[:n]
TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method

Break the code

In the above example, we are receiving the error after the user input the value for n . The Python input() accepts the input data from the user and stores it as a string value. That means in the example, the value of n is also of string data type. And when we used that n value for list slicing in the top_n_ides = top_ides[:n] statement Python raises the error TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method , because slicing only accepts an integer data type, not a string.

Solution

Whenever we input a value from the user, we should type convert it according to its use. In the above example, we are accepting the input for the list slicing, and slicing only accepts the int data type, so we need to convert the input data value to int.

top_ides = ["PyCharm",
            "VSCode",
            "Atom",
            "Spyder",
            "Thonny",
            "Jupyter Notebook" ,
            "IDLE",
            "PyDev",
            "Wing",
            "Eric"
            ]
#convert the input to integer
n = int(input("Enter N(0 to 10) for the Top N Ide's: "))

#slicing to get top n ide's
top_n_ides = top_ides[:n]

print(f"The top {n} Python IDE's are")
for ide in top_n_ides:
    print(ide)

Output

Enter N(0 to 10) for the Top N Ide's: 5
The top 5 Python IDE's are
PyCharm
VSCode
Atom
Spyder
Thonny

Now, our code runs without any errors.

Conclusion

Python slicing is a syntax that allows us to get a sequence of characters or elements from the index subscriptable objects like List, Tuple, and string. The slicing syntax only accepts an integer index value, and for all the other data values, it returns the TypeError: slice indices must be integers or None or have an __index__ method Error.

Whenever you see this error in your Python program, the first thing you should check is the data type of the identifier you are passing inside the square brackets for the list slicing and convert it into an int.

If you are still getting this error in your Python program, please share your code and query in the comment section. Our developer team will try to help you in debugging.

Happy Coding!

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