How do you return a value that is inputted

Question

def multiply(x, y):
return x * y

a = input()
b = input()
operation = multiply
print(operation(a, b))

this code gives me an error

Answer 1

If you want to do it step by step, you can assign:

a = input()
b = input()
a = int(a)
b = int(b)

but it's more convenient to write:

a = int(input ())
b = int(input ())

or (the cleanest option) leave the variables as they are and force the type only in the method definition, like VEdward did.

Answer 2

because the input is string... you need to convert them to integer then multiply...
you can't multiply strings

use this..

return int(a)*int(b)

Answer 3

how do you do that?

int = a
int = b

??

Answer 4

a=int (input ())
b=int (input ())

Answer 5

thank you for you guys' help. i really appreciate this.