Refactor the Menu Actions

Before rebuilding the interactive menu, you will extract two of its actions with fixed data. No input() yet. That lets you focus on function boundaries.

Displaying the items

The Chapter 7 list branch had two paths:

if len(items) == 0:
    print("The list is empty.")
else:
    number = 1
    for item in items:
        print(f"{number}. {item}")
        number += 1

Move that work into a function:

def show_items(items):
    if len(items) == 0:
        print("The list is empty.")
    else:
        number = 1
        for item in items:
            print(f"{number}. {item}")
            number += 1

The list becomes an argument at the call:

show_items(books)

Inside the function, the parameter items refers to that list. The function does not care whether the caller named it books, tasks, or places.

Returning the count message

You will give the count action a slightly different boundary:

def count_message(items):
    return f"Items stored: {len(items)}"

This function builds and returns text. The caller prints it:

print(count_message(books))

Why use two styles in one lesson?

Because functions are defined by their jobs, not by a rule that every function must print or every function must return. show_items is a display operation that may print several lines. count_message builds one reusable value.

The list stays with the caller

The functions do not create the collection:

books = []
show_items(books)

books.append("Kindred")
books.append("A Wizard of Earthsea")

show_items(books)
print(count_message(books))

The caller owns the sequence of events. The functions handle individual operations.

Expected output:

The list is empty.
1. Kindred
2. A Wizard of Earthsea
Items stored: 2

This is a small version of the final refactor. The top-level code says what happens. Each function explains how one action works.