# Which function not giving numerical answer [closed]

Here's my problem:

My functions:

Xhcmaleorfemale[maleorfemale_,h_] :=
Which[ (h<3|h>7),0,(h>2&&h<8),
Which[maleorfemale==0,Xhcmale,maleorfemale==1,Xhcfemale][[h-2]] ];

X[t_,h_,region_,hc_,nh_,maleorfemale_] :=
((1+growthLTC)^(t/12))*(Which[ hc==1,Xhcmaleorfemale[maleorfemale,h],
nh==1,Xnh [[region]] ]);


Xhcmale and Xhcfemale are two lists defined this way:

Xhcmale={45.33,113.12,215.22,312.67,449.85};
Xhcfemale={77.76,113.12,215.22,312.67,449.85};


Now I want to test the functions to see the results:

X[0,1,1,1,0,1] (* technically 0 in the 1st argument and 1 in the 4th or 5th is not possible but just for a test *)
X[12,3,1,1,0,1]
X[12,7,1,1,0,1]


The results should be:

0
(1+.035)^(12/12)*77.76=80.4816
(1+.035)^(12/12)*449.85=465.595


Instead this is what I get:

1. Which[True | False, 0, 1 > 2 && 1 < 8,
Which[1 == 0, Xhcmale, 1 == 1, Xhcfemale][[1 - 2]]]

80.4816

465.595


I have often this problem with Which and If functions. What am I doing wrong or what should I change? Thanks a lot, answers have been rapidly coming.

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Don't use | use the logical Or || in (h<3|h>7) –  Matariki May 10 at 11:52

## closed as too localized by Yves Klett, Artes, m_goldberg, Sjoerd C. de Vries, SilviaMay 10 at 19:16

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As Matariki pointed out in comments, this is a simple syntax error. The infix version of Or in Mathematica is ||, not |.

Change this, like so:

Xhcmaleorfemale[maleorfemale_, h_] :=
Which[(h < 3 || h > 7), 0, (h > 2 && h < 8),
Which[maleorfemale == 0, Xhcmale, maleorfemale == 1,
Xhcfemale][[h - 2]]];


And you will get sensible answers, bearing in mind that growthLTC wasn't defined in your question.

In[38]:= X[0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1]
Out[38]= 0

In[39]:= X[12, 3, 1, 1, 0, 1]
Out[39]= 77.76 (1 + growthLTC)

In[40]:= X[12, 7, 1, 1, 0, 1]
Out[40]= 449.85 (1 + growthLTC)


As a general comment on your code, I think you would find it useful to use Condition statements and pattern matching in your definition of Xhcmaleorfemale to exclude nonsense inputs.

Xhcmaleorfemale[maleorfemale_Integer, h_Integer?Positive] /;
h > 2 && (maleorfemale == 0 || maleorfemale == 1) :=
Which[(h < 3 || h > 7), 0, (h > 2 && h < 8),
Which[maleorfemale == 0, Xhcmale, maleorfemale == 1,
Xhcfemale][[h - 2]]];


More generally, since you have defined the maleorfemale input to Xhcmaleorfemale via a result of X, I think you would have more readable code if you used Boolean (True/False) values not zero and 1.

Finally, and this isn't a Mathematica-specific issue, I don't think it's good practice to create a variable that is 1 or True when male, and 0 or False when female, and then call it maleorfemale. Your code becomes less readable. It does matter how you name your variables. For more on this, I recently read The Art of Readable Code by Dustin Boswell and would recommend it even though it isn't specifically about Mathematica.

I would suggest that you instead have a variable isMale that takes a Boolean value. So your code would become the much simpler:

Xhcmaleorfemale[isMale : (True | False), h_Integer?Positive] /;  h > 2 :=
Which[(h < 3 || h > 7), 0, (h > 2 && h < 8),
If[isMale, Xhcmale, Xhcfemale][[h - 2]]];


Notice the use of the single pipe |. This is for Alternatives in patterns, which is not the same as Or.

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