Strings in Python:

Printing
  • you can print the string directly or use variables to store it


#printing directly, use single or double qutoes:
print("panda")


#variable = "string"
animal = "rabbit"
#keep variable descriptive of what value it holds to make code easier to read
#single or double quotes both work

#variables with multiple words, use underscore not space
favorite_animal = "otter"

#don't use quotes when using variables
print(animal)
print(favorite_animal)
panda
rabbit
otter
Quotes:
  • if using single quotes and string has a single quote, python will read it as the end of a string
  • to combat this, use a backslash or double quotes
  • vice versa for double quotes
# example:  mood1 = 'I'm feeling tired'
#apostrophe in "I'm" interrupts string and will cause error

#use backslash in front or double quotes
mood2 = 'I\'m feeling happy'
mood3 = "I'm feeling sad"

print(mood2)
print(mood3)
I'm feeling happy
I'm feeling sad
Strings with multiple lines
  • instead of printing 3 separate strings, use 3 quotes
    • both single and double work
riddle = """my favorite animal
hiberates during the winter
in a cave"""

print(riddle)
my favorite animal
hiberates during the winter
in a cave

len function

  • stands for length
  • returns length of a string
print(len ("hummingbird"))
11

Printing specific parts of a string

  • for a specific character: use []
  • for a range: use [ : ]
    • starts counting at 0
    • first value is inclusive, second is not
  • slicing:
    • leaving first value empty: will start at 0
    • leaving second value empty: will end with last character
tiger_fact = "the stripes on a tiger are unique, similar to human fingerprints"

#specific character: 
print(tiger_fact[5])

#range:
print(tiger_fact[4:11])

#slicing:
print(tiger_fact[:23])
print(tiger_fact[35:])
t
stripes
the stripes on a tiger 
similar to human fingerprints

Palindromes

A palindrome is a string that reads the same from right to left as left to right.

  • Ex: 2112, mom, taco cat
  • def palindrome(input_str):
        # Remove spaces and convert the string to lowercase
        clean_str = input_str.replace(" ", "").lower()
        # Check if the cleaned string is equal to its reverse
        return clean_str == clean_str[::-1]
    
    
    print(palindrome("go hang a salami im a lasagna hog")) # True
    print(palindrome("hi")) # False
    
    
    True
    False