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Python Reference Manual |  |
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2.4.1 String literals
String literals are described by the following lexical definitions:
stringliteral: shortstring | longstring shortstring: "'" shortstringitem* "'" | '"' shortstringitem* '"' longstring: "'''" longstringitem* "'''" | '"""' longstringitem* '"""' shortstringitem: shortstringchar | escapeseq longstringitem: longstringchar | escapeseq shortstringchar: <any ASCII character except "\" or newline or the quote> longstringchar: <any ASCII character except "\"> escapeseq: "\" <any ASCII character>
In plain English: String literals can be enclosed in matching single
quotes (') or double quotes ("). They can also be
enclosed in matching groups of three single or double quotes (these
are generally referred to as triple-quoted strings). The
backslash (\) character is used to escape characters that
otherwise have a special meaning, such as newline, backslash itself,
or the quote character. String literals may optionally be prefixed
with a letter `r' or `R'; such strings are called
raw strings and use different rules for
backslash escape sequences. A prefix of 'u' or 'U' makes the string
a Unicode string. Unicode strings use the Unicode character set as
defined by the Unicode Consortium and ISO 10646. Some additional
escape sequences, described below, are available in Unicode strings.
In triple-quoted strings,
unescaped newlines and quotes are allowed (and are retained), except
that three unescaped quotes in a row terminate the string. (A
``quote'' is the character used to open the string, i.e. either
' or ".)
Unless an `r' or `R' prefix is present, escape sequences in strings are interpreted according to rules similar to those used by Standard C. The recognized escape sequences are:
| Escape Sequence | Meaning |
|---|---|
\newline |
Ignored |
\\ |
Backslash (\) |
\' |
Single quote (') |
\" |
Double quote (") |
\a |
ASCII Bell (BEL) |
\b |
ASCII Backspace (BS) |
\f |
ASCII Formfeed (FF) |
\n |
ASCII Linefeed (LF) |
\N{name} |
Character with 16-bit hex value xxxx (Unicode only) |
\r |
ASCII Carriage Return (CR) |
\t |
ASCII Horizontal Tab (TAB) |
\uxxxx |
Character with 32-bit hex value xxxxxxxx (Unicode only) |
\Uxxxxxxxx |
ASCII@ASCII |
\v |
ASCII Vertical Tab (VT) |
\ooo |
ASCII character with octal value ooo |
\xhh |
ASCII character with hex value hh |
As in Standard C, up to three octal digits are accepted. However, exactly two hex digits are taken in hex escapes.
Unlike Standard , all unrecognized escape sequences are left in the string unchanged, i.e., the backslash is left in the string. (This behavior is useful when debugging: if an escape sequence is mistyped, the resulting output is more easily recognized as broken.) It is also important to note that the escape sequences marked as ``(Unicode only)'' in the table above fall into the category of unrecognized escapes for non-Unicode string literals.
When an `r' or `R' prefix is present, a character following a
backslash is included in the string without change, and all
backslashes are left in the string. For example, the string literal
r"\n" consists of two characters: a backslash and a lowercase
`n'. String quotes can be escaped with a backslash, but the backslash
remains in the string; for example, r"\"" is a valid string
literal consisting of two characters: a backslash and a double quote;
r"\" is not a value string literal (even a raw string cannot
end in an odd number of backslashes). Specifically, a raw
string cannot end in a single backslash (since the backslash would
escape the following quote character). Note also that a single
backslash followed by a newline is interpreted as those two characters
as part of the string, not as a line continuation.
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Python Reference Manual | |
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Release 2.1.3, documentation updated on April 8, 2002.