Why does >>> 'c\\\h' produces 'c\\\\h' via the python CLI
But >>> print 'c\\\h' produces c\\h
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Emmanuel Osimosu
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7`>>> 'c\\\h'` doesn't produce `c\\\\h`. It produces `'c\\\\h'`. – interjay Apr 15 '15 at 14:03
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@BhargavRao No way, this question is more general; the title reflects that. – OJFord Apr 15 '15 at 14:15
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@interjay doesn't answer the question though .. it still produces 4 backslashes – Emmanuel Osimosu Apr 15 '15 at 14:41
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It was a correction to your question, not an answer. – interjay Apr 15 '15 at 15:51
1 Answers
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Python interpreter running in REPL mode prints representation (repr builtin) of result of last statement (it it exists and not a None):
>>> 5 + 6
11
For str objects representation is a string literal in a same form it is written in your code (except for the quotes that may differ), so it includes escape sequences:
>>> '\n\t1'
'\n\t1'
>>> print repr('\n\t1')
'\n\t1'
print statement (or function) on the other hand prints pretty string-conversion (str builtin) of an element, which makes all escape sequences being converted to actual characters:
>>> print '\n\t1'
<---- newline
1 <---- tab + 1
myaut
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what i got from your explanation is that..repr() displays the string just as it is, but print() function formats it... does't explain the extra/deducted backslashes using the examples i provided though – Emmanuel Osimosu Apr 15 '15 at 15:10
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@Emmanuel: _format_ is incorrect term here. Like I said, it _replaces escape sequences_. I.e. `'\n'` -> newline. For backslashes: `'\\'` -> single backslash. That is why backslashes doubled in `repr` (see string literal link in my post) – myaut Apr 15 '15 at 15:13