How to Solve unexpected EOF while parsing error in Python

Because Python is an interpreted language, it is possible to write code that is not syntactically correct.

Unlike compiled languages, when you write code that isn't valid, you might only find out while you're parsing or running the code.

One of these is Python's SyntaxError: unexpected EOF while parsing error.

In this post, we'll look an example code that causes this error and how to solve it.

How to solve unexpected EOF while parsing error

As mentioned before, this error exists when the interpreter tries to parse a code that is not syntactically correct, specifically when it reaches the end of the file unexpectedly.

An example of this error is the following:

PYTHON
array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
for i in array:

BASH
File "<string>", line 2
    for i in array:
                ^
SyntaxError: unexpected EOF while parsing

Because we didn't close the for loop, the interpreter didn't know where to stop parsing, resulting in this error.

The fix here is to just add any code to the body of the loop.

This will allow the interpreter to parse the code correctly, and properly loop through the array.

PYTHON
array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
for i in array:
    print(i)

BASH
1
2
3
4
5

Keep in mind that this error happens every time that the interpreter expects code but doesn't find it.

Here's another offending code sample:

PYTHON
a = 1
b = 2
if b > a:

BASH
File "<string>", line 3
    if b > a:
            ^
SyntaxError: unexpected EOF while parsing

Just like before, the opening if statement is missing a body and the interpreter reaches the end of the file unexpectedly.

To fix it, just add some code:

PYTHON
a = 1
b = 2
if b > a:
    print("b is greater than a")

BASH
b is greater than a

Conclusion

In this post, we learned about the SyntaxError: unexpected EOF while parsing error.

It is caused when the end of file is reached unexpectedly while parsing a file. To fix it, simple add some code or properly close the code block.

Thanks for reading and hope this helped!

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