Maintaining Programs (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Computer Science): Revision Note

Calculates the area of a triangle given its base and height

Inputs:

base (float): The length of the triangle's base (positive value)

height (float): The height of the triangle from the base (positive value)

Returns:

The calculated area of the triangle (float)

Raises:

ValueError: If either base or height is non-positive

def calculate_area_of_triangle(base, height):
    if base <= 0 or height <= 0:
        raise ValueError("Base and height must be positive values.")

    area = 0.5 * base * height  # Corrected multiplication syntax
    return area

def main():
    # -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    # Prompts the user for triangle base and height, calculates and prints the area
    # -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    try:
        base = float(input("Enter the base of the triangle: "))
        height = float(input("Enter the height of the triangle: "))

        # Call the area calculation function
        area = calculate_area_of_triangle(base, height)

        print(f"The area of the triangle is approximately {area:.2f} square units.")

    except ValueError as error:
        print(f"Error: {error}")

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Main program
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------

main()