python - why does if not operation == '/' or '*' or '+' or '-': give me a syntax error,

Question

if not operation == '/' or '*' or '+' or '-':
  print('not a valid answer, try again')
  operation = (input('Please enter what operation you would like to do, / is divide, * is multiply, + is plus and - is minus')

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/65878015/why-does-if-not-operation-or-or-or-give-me-a-syntax-error

Answer 1

operation = (input('Please enter what operation you would like to do, / is divide, * is multiply, + is plus and - is minus')

You forgot to add a second closing brace. In this case, just remove the opening brace.

Additionally, your if statement will always be True. Following code will work:

if not operation in ['/', '*', '+', '-']: # test if operation is one of /, *, + and -
  print('not a valid answer, try again')
  operation = input('Please enter what operation you would like to do, / is divide, * is multiply, + is plus and - is minus')