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format string in python

The document explains various methods for formatting strings in Python, including f-strings, str.format(), and the % operator. F-strings, introduced in Python 3.6, are highlighted as the most modern and preferred method due to their readability and performance. Additionally, it discusses raw strings for handling escape characters effectively.

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Kiran sai
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6 views

format string in python

The document explains various methods for formatting strings in Python, including f-strings, str.format(), and the % operator. F-strings, introduced in Python 3.6, are highlighted as the most modern and preferred method due to their readability and performance. Additionally, it discusses raw strings for handling escape characters effectively.

Uploaded by

Kiran sai
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Reading: Format Strings in Python

Estimated effort: 5 mins

Format strings are a way to inject variables into a string in Python. They are used to format strings and
produce more human-readable outputs. There are several ways to format strings in Python:

String interpolation (f-strings)


Introduced in Python 3.6, f-strings are a new way to format strings in Python. They are prefixed with 'f' and
use curly braces {} to enclose the variables that will be formatted. For example:
name = "John"
age = 30
print(f"My name is {name} and I am {age} years old.")

This will output:


My name is John and I am 30 years old.

str.format()
This is another way to format strings in Python. It uses curly braces {} as placeholders for variables which
are passed as arguments in the format() method. For example:
name = "John"
age = 50
print("My name is {} and I am {} years old.".format(name, age))

This will output:


My name is John and I am 50 years old.
% Operator
This is one of the oldest ways to format strings in Python. It uses the % operator to replace variables in the
string. For example:
name = "Johnathan"
age = 30
print("My name is %s and I am %d years old." % (name, age))

This will output:

My name is Johnathan and I am 30 years old.

“My name is %s and I am %d years old.“: This is a string that includes format specifiers:

%s: This is a placeholder for a string.


%d: This is a placeholder for an integer.

% (name, age): This is a tuple containing the variables name and age. The values of these variables will
replace the placeholders in the string.

Each of these methods has its own advantages and use cases. However, f-strings are generally considered the
most modern and preferred way to format strings in Python due to their readability and performance.

Additional capabilities
F-strings are also able to evaluate expressions inside the curly braces, which can be very handy. For example:
x = 10
y = 20
print(f"The sum of x and y is {x+y}.")
This will output:
The sum of x and y is 30.

Raw String (r’’)


In Python, raw strings are a powerful tool for handling textual data, especially when dealing with escape
characters. By prefixing a string literal with the letter ‘r’, Python treats the string as raw, meaning it interprets
backslashes as literal characters rather than escape sequences.

Consider the following examples of regular string and raw string:

Regular string:

regular_string = "C:\new_folder\file.txt"
print("Regular String:", regular_string)

This will output:

Regular String: C:
ew_folderile.txt

In the regular string regular_string variable, the backslashes (\n) are interpreted as escape sequences.
Therefore, \n represents a newline character, which would lead to an incorrect file path representation.

Raw string:

raw_string = r"C:\new_folder\file.txt"
print("Raw String:", raw_string)

This will output:


Raw String: C:\new_folder\file.txt

However, in the raw string raw_string, the backslashes are treated as literal characters. This means that \n is
not interpreted as a newline character, but rather as two separate characters, \ and n. Consequently, the file
path is represented exactly as it appears.

Author: Abhishek Gagneja

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