无法在Python 3中将字符串改回整数

Question

def get_time():
    start_time = str(input("Please enter the time you started working (hh:mm) "))
    if ":" in start_time:
        h1, m1 = start_time.split(":")
    else:
        h1 = int(start_time)
        m1 = " "
    if h1 < 8:
        print("You can't start working until 08:00.")
    elif h1 > 23:
        print("You can't work past 24:00 (midnight) ")
    end_time = str(input("Please enter the time you stopped working (hh:mm) "))

get_time()

Here's my code for a program I'm making to take in the times someone babysitted. I'm having trouble turning the string numbers back into an integer. I get the error:

  File "/Applications/Python 3.4/babysitting.py", line 10, in get_time
    if h1 < 8:
TypeError: unorderable types: str() < int()

Why isn't h1 = int(start_time) working?

Answer 1

Why isn't h1 = int(start_time) working?

That line isn't being executed at all when you have a : character in the input:

if ":" in start_time:
    h1, m1 = start_time.split(":")
else:
    h1 = int(start_time)
    m1 = " "

The int(start_time) is executed only when there is no : in the input, so when the if test is false.

Separate the splitting and the integer conversion:

h1 = start_time
if ":" in start_time:
    h1 = start_time.split(":")[0]
h1 = int(h1)