Python: "Unused variable" warning in PyDev

Question

Here is my code, and there is a "compiler" warning (is that the correct term for it?) under the instantiation of normDataSet below:

def autoNorm(dataSet):
    minVals = dataSet.min(0)
    maxVals = dataSet.max(0)
    ranges = maxVals - minVals
    normDataSet = np.zeros(np.shape(dataSet)) # Warning under "normDataSet" here.
    m = dataSet.shape[0]
    normDataSet = dataSet - np.tile(minVals, (m, 1))
    normDataSet = normDataSet / np.tile(ranges, (m, 1)) 
    return normDataSet, ranges, minVals

The full warning in PyDev reads: Unused variable: normDataSet Is there a way to eliminate this warning without having to suppress it with @UnusedVariable? Or am I missing something?

Answer 1

The variable isn't unused, but the assignment you're making is pointless, since you reassign to normDataSet without ever using the value you first assigned. The line flagged can be removed entirely.

Don't suppress the warning; it's there to tell you there's a problem.