# Python Function Node UnicodeDecodeError
**URL:** https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986
**Category:** General
**Created:** [28 October 2020 21:28 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986 "2020-10-28T21:28:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Huda](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Huda)
#### Post date: [28 October 2020 21:28 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/1 "2020-10-28T21:28:13Z")
Hello everyone, I am running into a problem when I import a flow I had built on the IBM Cloud Node Red to my local Windows 10 Node Red. The flow is as follows:
When I run this on the IBM cloud, it works perfectly. When I run it locally on Windows 10, I get the following debug outputs:
As you can see, the Speech to Text node is working fine and the Debug Text outputs "Hello". However, the Python Text to Morse node, which is a node-red-contrib-python-function node, seems to be where the errors happen. This is the code inside:
```auto
#Every letter must be followed by a duration of 3 dots, and every word is followed by a duration of 7 dots
#Thus, to represent correct morse, we first separate letters and words by this morse spacing
transcriptWithSpacedWords = []
for letter in msg['payload']:
if letter != ' ': #if we are inside a word
transcriptWithSpacedWords.append(letter) #add the letter
transcriptWithSpacedWords.append(' ') #3 dots
if letter == ' ': #if the word is over
transcriptWithSpacedWords.append('_') #7 dots
morse = ''
for letter in transcriptWithSpacedWords:
if str(letter) == ' ': #if letter is over then 3 dots
morse = morse + '>'
if str(letter) == '_': #if word is over then 4 dots (because there was already a space (3) before)
morse = morse + '<'
if str(letter) == 'a' or str(letter) == 'A':
morse = morse + '.-'
if str(letter) == 'b' or str(letter) == 'B':
morse = morse + '-...'
if str(letter) == 'c' or str(letter) == 'C':
morse = morse + '-.-.'
if str(letter) == 'd' or str(letter) == 'D':
morse = morse + '-..'
if str(letter) == 'e' or str(letter) == 'E':
morse = morse + '.'
if str(letter) == 'f' or str(letter) == 'F':
morse = morse + '..-.'
if str(letter) == 'g' or str(letter) == 'G':
morse = morse + '--.'
if str(letter) == 'h' or str(letter) == 'H':
morse = morse + '....'
if str(letter) == 'i' or str(letter) == 'I':
morse = morse + '..'
if str(letter) == 'j' or str(letter) == 'J':
morse = morse + '.---'
if str(letter) == 'k' or str(letter) == 'K':
morse = morse + '-.-'
if str(letter) == 'l' or str(letter) == 'L':
morse = morse + '.-..'
if str(letter) == 'm' or str(letter) == 'M':
morse = morse + '--'
if str(letter) == 'n' or str(letter) == 'N':
morse = morse + '-.'
if str(letter) == 'o' or str(letter) == 'O':
morse = morse + '---'
if str(letter) == 'p' or str(letter) == 'P':
morse = morse + '.--.'
if str(letter) == 'q' or str(letter) == 'Q':
morse = morse + '--.-'
if str(letter) == 'r' or str(letter) == 'R':
morse = morse + '.-.'
if str(letter) == 's' or str(letter) == 'S':
morse = morse + '...'
if str(letter) == 't' or str(letter) == 'T':
morse = morse + '-'
if str(letter) == 'u' or str(letter) == 'U':
morse = morse + '..-'
if str(letter) == 'v' or str(letter) == 'V':
morse = morse + '...-'
if str(letter) == 'w' or str(letter) == 'W':
morse = morse + '.--'
if str(letter) == 'x' or str(letter) == 'X':
morse = morse + '-..-'
if str(letter) == 'y' or str(letter) == 'Y':
morse = morse + '-.--'
if str(letter) == 'z' or str(letter) == 'Z':
morse = morse + '--..'
msg['payload'] = morse
return msg
```
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!
The output I am expecting is this (this image is from the cloud output):
and I receive the same output if I run the same code on JupyterNotebook (but instead of using msg['payload'] I just use a string like Transcript = "Hello ")
---
### Author:  [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 10:21 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/2 "2020-10-29T10:21:11Z")
I seem to remember others have had problems with this node, my suggestion would be to replace it with a normal Function node using javascript.
---
### Author:  [@dceejay](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/dceejay)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 10:30 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/3 "2020-10-29T10:30:46Z")
... or an exec node calling an external python script.
---
### Author:  [@Huda](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Huda)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 10:33 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/4 "2020-10-29T10:33:27Z")
Thank you for the suggestion! The problem is that I am not familiar with the JS syntax so when I tried to replace Python with it, I couldn't get all the functions in my flow to do what I want 💔
I was able to convert the function in the question to the following:
```auto
//variables to be used to seperate morse words.
var word = '';
var morseText = [];
//Loop through every letter in the received message
for (var letter in msg.payload)
{
//if it is part of a word
if (msg.payload[letter] === '.' || msg.payload[letter] === '-' || msg.payload[letter] == '>')
{
word = word + msg.payload[letter]; //Then add it to the variable word
}
//if it is the signal that a word is over
if (msg.payload[letter] === '<')
{
morseText.push(word); //First, add the word to the morseText array.
morseText.push('<'); //Then, add the signal.
word = ""; //Finally, clear the word variable to start holding a new word.
}
}
//variables to be used to transform morse words to english text.
var englishText = '';
var morseLetter = '';
//For every morse words saved in morseText array
for (var morseWord in morseText)
{
//Loop through the morse signs in the word
for (var sign in morseText[morseWord])
{
//if the sign is a dit or dah
if (morseText[morseWord[sign]] === '.' || morseText[morseWord[sign]] == '-')
{
morseLetter = morseLetter + morseText[morseWord[sign]]; //then add it as part of a letter.
}
//if the sign is signalling the end of a word
else if (morseText[morseWord[sign]] === '<')
{
englishText = englishText + ' '; //then add a space.
morseLetter = ''; //and clear the the letter variable to accept letters from the next word.
}
//if the sign is signalling the end of the letter
else if (morseText[morseWord[sign]] === '>')
{
//then figure out what that letter is in english
if (morseLetter === '.-')
{englishText = englishText + 'a';}
else if (morseLetter === '-...')
{englishText = englishText + 'b';}
else if (morseLetter === '-.-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'c';}
else if (morseLetter === '-..')
{englishText = englishText + 'd';}
else if (morseLetter === '.')
{englishText = englishText + 'e';}
else if (morseLetter === '..-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'f';}
else if (morseLetter === "--.")
{englishText = englishText + "g";}
else if (morseLetter === '....')
{englishText = englishText + 'h';}
else if (morseLetter === '..')
{englishText = englishText + 'i';}
else if (morseLetter === '.---')
{englishText = englishText + 'j';}
else if (morseLetter === '-.-')
{englishText = englishText + 'k';}
else if (morseLetter === '.-..')
{englishText = englishText + 'l';}
else if (morseLetter === '--')
{englishText = englishText + 'm';}
else if (morseLetter === '-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'n';}
else if (morseLetter == '---')
{englishText = englishText + 'o';}
else if (morseLetter == '.--.')
{englishText = englishText + 'p';}
else if (morseLetter == '--.-')
{englishText = englishText + 'q';}
else if (morseLetter == '.-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'r';}
else if (morseLetter == '...')
{englishText = englishText + 's';}
else if (morseLetter == '-')
{englishText = englishText + 't';}
else if (morseLetter == '..-')
{englishText = englishText + 'u';}
else if (morseLetter == '...-')
{englishText = englishText + 'v';}
else if (morseLetter == '.--')
{englishText = englishText + 'w';}
else if (morseLetter == '-..-')
{englishText = englishText + 'x';}
else if (morseLetter == '-.--')
{englishText = englishText + 'y';}
else if (morseLetter == '--..')
{englishText = englishText + 'z';}
morseLetter = ''; //then clear the the letter variable to accept the next letter.
}
}
}
msg.payload = englishText;
return msg;
```
It is giving the correct result, but it shows a yellow error sign at the } right before msg.payload = englishText; that says "too many errors. 97% scanned"
Similarly, I have this python function to go from Morse to Text:
```auto
word = ''
morseText = []
for letter in msg['payload']:
if str(letter) == '.' or str(letter) == '-' or str(letter) == '>':
word = word + letter
if str(letter) == '<': #if it's the signal that word is over then add a space
morseText.append(word)
morseText.append(' ')
word = ""
englishText = ''
morseLetter = ''
for word in morseText:
for sign in word:
if str(sign) == '.' or str(sign) == '-':
morseLetter = morseLetter + sign
if str(sign) == ' ':
englishText = englishText + ' '
morseLetter = ''
if str(sign) == '>':
#then the letter is over and we need to figure out what the it is in english now
if str(morseLetter) == '.-':
englishText = englishText + 'a'
if str(morseLetter) == '-...':
englishText = englishText + 'b'
if str(morseLetter) == '-.-.':
englishText = englishText + 'c'
if str(morseLetter) == '-..':
englishText = englishText + 'd'
if str(morseLetter) == '.':
englishText = englishText + 'e'
if str(morseLetter) == '..-.':
englishText = englishText + 'f'
if str(morseLetter) == '--.':
englishText = englishText + 'g'
if str(morseLetter) == '....':
englishText = englishText + 'h'
if str(morseLetter) == '..':
englishText = englishText + 'i'
if str(morseLetter) == '.---':
englishText = englishText + 'j'
if str(morseLetter) == '-.-':
englishText = englishText + 'k'
if str(morseLetter) == '.-..':
englishText = englishText + 'l'
if str(morseLetter) == '--':
englishText = englishText + 'm'
if str(morseLetter) == '-.':
englishText = englishText + 'n'
if str(morseLetter) == '---':
englishText = englishText + 'o'
if str(morseLetter) == '.--.':
englishText = englishText + 'p'
if str(morseLetter) == '--.-':
englishText = englishText + 'q'
if str(morseLetter) == '.-.':
englishText = englishText + 'r'
if str(morseLetter) == '...':
englishText = englishText + 's'
if str(morseLetter) == '-':
englishText = englishText + 't'
if str(morseLetter) == '..-':
englishText = englishText + 'u'
if str(morseLetter) == '...-':
englishText = englishText + 'v'
if str(morseLetter) == '.--':
englishText = englishText + 'w'
if str(morseLetter) == '-..-':
englishText = englishText + 'x'
if str(morseLetter) == '-.--':
englishText = englishText + 'y'
if str(morseLetter) == '--..':
englishText = englishText + 'z'
#then make the letter var empty again to accept a new letter
morseLetter = ''
msg['payload'] = englishText
return msg
```
And I am trying to replace it with this:
```auto
//variables to be used to seperate morse words.
var word = '';
var morseText = [];
//Loop through every letter in the received message
for (var letter in msg.payload)
{
//if it is part of a word
if (msg.payload[letter] === '.' || msg.payload[letter] === '-' || msg.payload[letter] == '>')
{
word = word + msg.payload[letter]; //Then add it to the variable word
}
//if it is the signal that a word is over
if (msg.payload[letter] === '<')
{
morseText.push(word); //First, add the word to the morseText array.
morseText.push('<'); //Then, add the signal.
word = ""; //Finally, clear the word variable to start holding a new word.
}
}
//variables to be used to transform morse words to english text.
var englishText = '';
var morseLetter = '';
//For every morse words saved in morseText array
for (var morseWord in morseText)
{
//Loop through the morse signs in the word
for (var sign in morseText[morseWord])
{
//if the sign is a dit or dah
if (morseText[morseWord[sign]] === '.' || morseText[morseWord[sign]] == '-')
{
morseLetter = morseLetter + morseText[morseWord[sign]]; //then add it as part of a letter.
}
//if the sign is signalling the end of a word
else if (morseText[morseWord[sign]] === '<')
{
englishText = englishText + ' '; //then add a space.
morseLetter = ''; //and clear the the letter variable to accept letters from the next word.
}
//if the sign is signalling the end of the letter
else if (morseText[morseWord[sign]] === '>')
{
//then figure out what that letter is in english
if (morseLetter === '.-')
{englishText = englishText + 'a';}
else if (morseLetter === '-...')
{englishText = englishText + 'b';}
else if (morseLetter === '-.-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'c';}
else if (morseLetter === '-..')
{englishText = englishText + 'd';}
else if (morseLetter === '.')
{englishText = englishText + 'e';}
else if (morseLetter === '..-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'f';}
else if (morseLetter === "--.")
{englishText = englishText + "g";}
else if (morseLetter === '....')
{englishText = englishText + 'h';}
else if (morseLetter === '..')
{englishText = englishText + 'i';}
else if (morseLetter === '.---')
{englishText = englishText + 'j';}
else if (morseLetter === '-.-')
{englishText = englishText + 'k';}
else if (morseLetter === '.-..')
{englishText = englishText + 'l';}
else if (morseLetter === '--')
{englishText = englishText + 'm';}
else if (morseLetter === '-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'n';}
else if (morseLetter == '---')
{englishText = englishText + 'o';}
else if (morseLetter == '.--.')
{englishText = englishText + 'p';}
else if (morseLetter == '--.-')
{englishText = englishText + 'q';}
else if (morseLetter == '.-.')
{englishText = englishText + 'r';}
else if (morseLetter == '...')
{englishText = englishText + 's';}
else if (morseLetter == '-')
{englishText = englishText + 't';}
else if (morseLetter == '..-')
{englishText = englishText + 'u';}
else if (morseLetter == '...-')
{englishText = englishText + 'v';}
else if (morseLetter == '.--')
{englishText = englishText + 'w';}
else if (morseLetter == '-..-')
{englishText = englishText + 'x';}
else if (morseLetter == '-.--')
{englishText = englishText + 'y';}
else if (morseLetter == '--..')
{englishText = englishText + 'z';}
morseLetter = ''; //then clear the the letter variable to accept the next letter.
}
}
}
msg.payload = englishText;
return msg;
```
But when I inject "--.\>---\>---\>-..\>\<--\>---\>.-.\>-.\>..\>-.\>--.\>\<" it returns " " instead of the expected "good morning " and I cannot seem to figure out where the error is.
---
### Author:  [@Huda](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Huda)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 10:37 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/5 "2020-10-29T10:37:12Z")
Oh, I haven't tried these nodes before, thank you for the suggestion! I'll read more about them and see if I can figure them out
---
### Author:  [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 11:07 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/6 "2020-10-29T11:07:30Z")
I don't know what the problem is with the 'too many errors' message, it seems to be a bug in the syntax checker used in the function node, but not certain. @dceejay will have to comment on that I think.
For the second issue with the function just not doing what it should then an easy way to do simple debugging is to use `node.warn()` to show the progress through. So for instance you could add at appropriate points lines like
`node.warn("morseLetter is " + morseLetter)`
---
### Author:  [@Huda](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Huda)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 11:50 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/7 "2020-10-29T11:50:57Z")
> [@Colin](#):
>
> For the second issue with the function just not doing what it should then an easy way to do simple debugging is to use `node.warn()` to show the progress through. So for instance you could add at appropriate points lines like
> `node.warn("morseLetter is " + morseLetter)`
Thank you for this! It seems the problem was trying to say morseText[morseWord[sign]] and now that I have replaced it, everything is working again.
> [@Colin](#):
>
> I don't know what the problem is with the 'too many errors' message, it seems to be a bug in the syntax checker used in the function node, but not certain. @dceejay will have to comment on that I think.
Oh, I see. Unfortunately, I am now getting this same message in my second function node too, so I would really appreciate your take on it if it's not a bug @dceejay , thank you!
---
### Author:  [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 11:56 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/8 "2020-10-29T11:56:14Z")
It seems to be triggered by all the `else if` lines. That code would be better written using the javascript `switch` statement so it might be worth changing over to that anyway. [https://www.w3schools.com/js/js\_switch.asp](https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_switch.asp)
---
### Author:  [@Huda](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Huda)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 12:36 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/10 "2020-10-29T12:36:17Z")
Ok, so I tried switch now and the yellow error moved to an earlier place in the message (at letter q) and now says 70% scanned instead of 97% but it is still showing.
However, now that I have a version with if and one with switch and need to decide which one to keep; why do you think Switch is better? the one with if statement seems to be shorter (131 lines instead of the 142 i have with switch) and is serving the same purpose, right? 🤔
---
### Author:  [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)
#### Post date: [29 October 2020 13:28 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/11 "2020-10-29T13:28:13Z")
Isn't the switch version easier to follow? I don't know whether the switch generates more efficient code, it may well do. It is more about using the appropriate construct for the requirement. Where you want to test a variable for equality to a number of different possibilities then that is what switch is designed for. You can make the code a bit more concise by using, for example
`englishText += 'h'`
also you generally don't need the semicolons any more.
Could you post the switch version please, I am interested to see where the problem now shows itself.
---
### Author:  [@Huda](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Huda)
#### Post date: [30 October 2020 17:11 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/12 "2020-10-30T17:11:41Z")
> [@Colin](#):
>
> Isn't the switch version easier to follow? I don't know whether the switch generates more efficient code, it may well do. It is more about using the appropriate construct for the requirement. Where you want to test a variable for equality to a number of different possibilities then that is what switch is designed for. You can make the code a bit more concise by using, for example
> `englishText += 'h'`
> also you generally don't need the semicolons any more.
Oh, I see. That's true, you're right!
> [@Colin](#):
>
> Could you post the switch version please, I am interested to see where the problem now shows itself.
Absolutely, here you go:
```auto
//variables to be used to seperate morse words.
var word = '';
var morseText = [];
//For every letter in the received message
for (var letter in msg.payload)
{
switch (msg.payload[letter])
{//if it is part of a word
case '.':
case '-':
case '>':
word = word + msg.payload[letter]; //Then add it to the variable word
break;
case '<': //if it is the end of word signal
morseText.push(word); //First, add the word to the morseText array.
morseText.push('<'); //Then, add the signal.
word = ""; //Finally, clear the word variable to start holding a new word.
break;
default:
break;
}
}
//variables to be used to transform morse words to english text.
var englishText = '';
var morseLetter = '';
//For every morse word saved in morseText array
for (var i in morseText)
{
var morseWord = morseText[i];
//Loop through the morse signs in the word
for (var sign in morseWord)
{
switch (morseWord[sign])
{
//if the sign is a dit or dah
case '.':
case '-':
morseLetter = morseLetter + morseWord[sign]; //then add it as part of a letter.
break;
//if the sign is signaling the end of a word
case '<':
englishText = englishText + ' '; //then add a space.
morseLetter = ''; //and clear the the letter variable to accept letters from the next word.
break;
//if the sign is signaling the end of the letter
case '>':
//then figure out what that letter is in English
switch (morseLetter)
{
case '.-':
englishText = englishText + 'a';
break;
case '-...':
englishText = englishText + 'b';
break;
case '-.-.':
englishText = englishText + 'c';
break;
case '-..':
englishText = englishText + 'd';
break;
case '.':
englishText = englishText + 'e';
break;
case '..-.':
englishText = englishText + 'f';
break;
case "--.":
englishText = englishText + "g";
break;
case '....':
englishText = englishText + 'h';
break;
case '..':
englishText = englishText + 'i';
break;
case '.---':
englishText = englishText + 'j';
break;
case '-.-':
englishText = englishText + 'k';
break;
case '.-..':
englishText = englishText + 'l';
break;
case '--':
englishText = englishText + 'm';
break;
case '-.':
englishText = englishText + 'n';
break;
case '---':
englishText = englishText + 'o';
break;
case '.--.':
englishText = englishText + 'p';
break;
case '--.-':
englishText = englishText + 'q';
break;
case '.-.':
englishText = englishText + 'r';
break;
case '...':
englishText = englishText + 's';
break;
case '-':
englishText = englishText + 't';
break;
case '..-':
englishText = englishText + 'u';
break;
case '...-':
englishText = englishText + 'v';
break;
case '.--':
englishText = englishText + 'w';
break;
case '-..-':
englishText = englishText + 'x';
break;
case '-.--':
englishText = englishText + 'y';
break
case '--..':
englishText = englishText + 'z';
break;
default:
englishText = englishText;
break;
}
morseLetter = ''; //and clear the the letter variable to accept the next letter.
default:
}
}
}
msg.payload = englishText;
return msg;
```
---
### Author:  [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)
#### Post date: [30 October 2020 21:17 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/13 "2020-10-30T21:17:44Z")
I thought I might have found the cause of the warning triangle. In javascript it is not recommended to use `for .. in ..` for iterating an array, though in practice it may work. The recommended way is to replace, for example
`for (var letter in msg.payload)`
with
`for (var letter=0; letter
### Author:  [@Huda](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Huda)
#### Post date: [31 October 2020 05:16 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/14 "2020-10-31T05:16:41Z")
> [@Colin](#):
>
> I have started a new thread for that issue to see if we can get to the bottom of it: ["Too many errors" in function node, but works ok](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/too-many-errors-in-function-node-but-works-ok/35088)
I will check this out, thank you so much!
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### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [14 November 2020 05:16 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/python-function-node-unicodedecodeerror/34986/15 "2020-11-14T05:16:48Z")
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