If you want to learn Python, then strings are one of the major key points that you need to advance to excel in your Python journey. Strings in Python allow you to store and modify text easily. Strings have wide application areas from simple text processing to complex operations. Let’s explore more about strings in Python!
Table of Contents
What is Strings in Python?
Strings in Python are characters, symbols, or letters wrapped within single, double, or triple quotes. You can represent anything in the form of strings like numbers, words, special characters, sentences, etc. Python Strings once created can’t be altered directly, which is why they are called immutable.
Example:
#String in Python
Key Features of Python Strings
Python strings are very powerful, they are packed with features and are very easy to use:
- A Python string is Immutable, which means it can’t be modified directly. If there are any changes made in the string then it will result in the creation of a new string.
- Strings in Python are of Dynamic Size, so they adjust automatically according to the data. This saves the manual effort of developers of memory management.
- There are many built-in methods provided by Python like split(), replace(), islower(), count(), and more. These methods make string operations easier.
- Strings in Python are easy to use, they can be concatenated, reversed, split, and more.
- Strings in Python are Unicode, they can handle any type of characters or emojis.
Creating a String
Creating Strings in Python is super easy. They can be created with the use of single, double, or triple quotes. Strings can handle special characters, numbers, words, sentences, emojis, etc.
Single Quotes: These strings are created with the use of single quotes.
# Creating strings with single quotes
Text = 'Intellipaat'
Double Quote: These strings are created with the use of double quotes.
# Creating strings with double quotes
Text = "Intellipaat"
Triple Quotes: These are easy to use in the case of multi-line strings.
# Creating strings with Triple quotes
Text = """ Learn Python
With Intellipaat """
Python String Operators
You can perform various operations on strings in Python. These operations ease the process of modifying and manipulating strings. Following are some of the operations on strings in Python:
Finding the Length of the String
If you want to find the length of a string, Python allows you to use the len() function to count the characters of the string.
#Output: 11
Repetition of Strings
String operations in Python are amazing. If you want to print a string repetitively, then it can be easily done with the * operation.
Example
Check for Substrings
If you want to check if the string contains a substring you’re looking for, use the in operator.
Example:
#checking for substring
print("Learn" in "Learn with Intellipaat") #Output: True
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Join Strings
If you want to join two or more strings then Python allows you to do that easily with the help of join() function.
Example:
Accessing Characters in Strings
Python allows you to access each character of a string with the use of indexing. A string is nothing but a sequence of characters, so each character is placed at an index. So, by using these indices, we can access the characters of a string. Indexing can be of two types:
Positive Indexing: If you want to access characters from the beginning of the string then you use positive indexing.
Example:
Negative Indexing: If you want to access characters from the end of the string then you use the negative indexing.
Example:
Deleting a String
In Python, once a string is created, you can not modify it because strings in Python are immutable. But, Python allows you to delete a string completely. You can do that using the del statement. If you try to access a deleted string, then it will result in an error.
Example:
Updating a String
You know strings are immutable in Python, so you can not directly update them, but you can create a new string that contains the updated content.
Example:
String Concatenation
If you want to combine two or more strings, then Python allows you to do that with a simple ‘+’ operator. This operation helps you combine user inputs or create dynamic outputs.
Example:
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Python String Methods
There are multiple operations that are to be performed on strings, like searching, modifying, accessing, slicing, and formatting. Python provides a wide range of easy-to-use methods that can be used directly to perform these operations efficiently.
Following are some of these methods:
| Method |
Description |
| capitalize() |
This method is used to convert the first character of a string to uppercase. |
| casefold() |
This method converts all the characters to lowercase, but it is more effective than the lower() method because it is case-insensitive. |
| center(width, char) |
This method is used to center the string within the limit specified as the parameter and fill it with the character specified as the parameter. |
| count(substring) |
This method counts the number of times a substring appears in a string. This method can also be used with some more parameters as needed. |
| endswith(suffix) |
This method is used to check if a string ends with a specified suffix. We can also use some more parameters as needed like the start and end of the string. |
| find(substring) |
This method is used to find the index of the first occurrence of the substring in the main string. It returns -1 if the substring is not found. |
| format(args) |
This method is used to format strings using placeholders. |
| isalnum() |
This method checks if all the characters of a string are alphanumeric. |
| isalpha() |
This method is used to check if all the characters of a string are alphabets. |
| isdigit() |
This method is used to check if all the characters of a string are digits. |
| islower() |
This method checks if all the characters of a string are lowercase. |
| isupper() |
This method checks if all the characters of a string are uppercase. |
| isspace() |
This method checks if all the characters of a string are whitespaces. |
| join() |
This method joins all elements of an array of strings using a string as a separator. |
| lower() |
This method is used to convert all characters of a string to lowercase. |
| lstrip(char) |
This method is used to remove all the occurrences of a leading character from the string passed in the method. |
| replace(old, new) |
This method replaces the current substring of a string with another substring. |
| rstrip() |
This method is used to remove all the occurrences of a trailing character from the string passed in the method. |
| split() |
This method splits a string into a list of substrings using the separator passed as a parameter. |
| startswith() |
This method checks if the string starts with the specified substring. |
| strip() |
This method removes all the occurrences of the leading and trailing characters from a string. |
| title() |
This method capitalizes the first character of every word of the string. |
| upper() |
This method converts all the characters of a string to uppercase. |
| zfill(width) |
This method pads the string with zeros until it reaches the specified width. |
String Manipulation Techniques
If you want to manipulate a string and transform its processing capabilities as needed, then Python allows you some techniques to manipulate a string:
1. Reverse a String
If you want to reverse a string then you can do that by following the method below:
Example:
2. Split a String
If you want to extract all the words of a string in a list format, then you can do that by using the split() method.
Example:
3. Replacing Substrings
If you want to replace parts of a string with another substring, then you can do that by using the replace() method.
Example:
4. Changing Case
If you want to convert a string to uppercase, lowercase or some other format, then Python provides you with some methods to do the same.
Example:
5. Stripping Characters
If you want to remove characters from the beginning or end of a string, then you can use some methods like strip(), lstrip(), or rstrip().
Example:
String Formatting
If you want to format a string by combining variables, expressions, or data values in a structured way to make it more readable and meaningful, Python provides multiple methods to do the same. Following are some of these methods:
By using this operator, you can easily concatenate two or more strings and variables.
In this method, you can use a placeholder wherever you want to insert a string or a variable. Placeholders like %s(for strings), %d(for integers), and %f(for float) are used.
Similar to the % operator, the format() method works in the same way, but it is easier to work with and provides more flexibility to developers, as no placeholders are required here.
This is the most modern and efficient method of formatting strings.
Slicing of Strings
If you want to extract a segment of a string, then you can do that by defining a range of indices. As you know, strings in Python are sequences of characters that start with index 0, then 1, and so on.
Example:
The above example illustrates a simple slicing method. Following are some more methods to perform string slicing:
- Omitting the Start or End Index
If the starting or ending index is not provided, then Python itself sets it to the lower and upper limit respectively.
Example:
If you want to extract characters in an interval, then you can define the step as a parameter.
Example:
- Negative Slicing of Strings
If you pass a negative index as a parameter, then Python will count that index from the end.
Example:
If you pass -1 as a step parameter, then it will reverse the string.
Example:
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Conclusion
Python provides a lot of methods and operators for string operations. These methods help developers in manipulating text data efficiently. With operations like slicing, formatting, and methods like join(), strip(), split(), and many more, you can process complex data easily.
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