TypeError builtin_function_or_method Object is Not Subscriptable Error

The TypeError builtin_function_or_method object is not subscriptable error occurs when you tried to call a built-in method using square brackets. In Python, we use round brackets with build-in functions, if we will use other than round brackets, we will get the error.

In this short article, we will learn how we can solve TypeError: builtin_function_or_method object is not subscriptable error using various methods. Moreover, we will also discuss the reasons behind this error and will learn how to understand and interpret errors in Python taking TypeError builtin_function_or_method object is not subscriptable as an example. If you have any questions related to the error, please let us know through comments and we will try our best to help you.

How to Solve TypeError: ‘builtin_function_or_method’ object is not subscriptable in Python?

Let us first understand what this error means and we are getting it. For example, let us assume that we have the following list containing names of fruits and we want to access the elements from the list using square brackets.

# list
a = ['apple', 'orange']

# accessing the elements
a[0]

This code will return Apple as we can access the first element from the list using the square brackets because the list is subscriptable.

However, the built-in functions in Python are not subscriptable so we cannot use the square bracket other wise we will get TypeError: builtin_function_or_method object is not subscriptable error.

For example, consider the following example:

# list
a = ['apple', 'orange']

# appending element in list
a.append['cake']

Output:

As you can see, we get the error: The reason for getting the error is that we have used square brackets instead of using round brackets to append items to the list. In your case, the reason might be different but the main cause of the problem is the square brackets.

Use Round Brackets to Solve Error

So, whenever you are facing TypeError builtin_function_or_method object is not subscriptable error that simply means you are trying to use square brackets for any built-in functions rather than round brackets. So, in order to get rid of the error, you need to replace square brackets with round brackets.

For example, see the code below:

# list
a = ['apple', 'orange']

# appending element in list
a.append('cake')

Now the append method will add the new item to the list as we are now using the correct brackets:

In Python, we use the square bracket if we need any of the following:

• a list of a specific index
• a tuple at a specific index
• a string at a specific index
• a specific key in a dictionary

Other than that, we use the round brackets for function. All functions are followed by round brackets.

Also, it is a common way to identify a function by looking at its round brackets:

TypeError: ‘builtin_function_or_method’ object is not subscriptable error

Now let us understand the errors in Python by taking the example of TypeError builtin_function_or_method object is not subscriptable error. In Python, the errors usually have two main parts. The first part of the error gives information about the category of the error. In this case, the error belongs to the TypeError category. The second part of the error gives more specific information about the error. In our case, it clearly says that built-in functions are not subscriptable.

How to Solve TypeErrors in Python?

The type errors occur because of misusing different data types in Python. An example could be adding a string to a floating number as shown below:

# string and floating objects
string = "Bashir"
floating = 5.43

# adding both together
string+floating

This will raise an error of TypeError because we are performing an addition operation on the wrong data type.

The easiest way to solve the TypeErrors in Python is to the right data-typed object for the specified operation. We can check the data type of the object using the type() function.

# string and floating objects
string = "Bashir"
floating = 5.43

# printing the type
print(type(string))
print(type(floating))

Output:

<class 'str'>
<class 'float'>

Another way to handle the TypeError is to use the try-except blocks. In Python, the try-except blocks are used to handle errors. The code inside the try block will be executed first and if any error occurs then instead of crashing the script, the code inside the except block will be executed. See the example below:

# string and floating objects
string = "Bashir"
floating = 5.43

try:
    # adding both together
    string+floating
    
except:
    print("There is an error in the try blocK!")

Output:

There is an error in the try blocK!

Notice that instead of getting the error and crashing the script, we handled the TypeError using the try-except blocks in Python.

Summary

In this short article, we learned how we can solve TypeError builtin_function_or_method object is not subscriptable error in Python. This error is basically because we are using square or round brackets instead of round brackets for the function. We solved the error using various examples and tried to understand the error so that in future we can solve such errors by ourselves.

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