len() function not giving correct character number

Question

I am trying to figure out the number of characters in a string but for some strange reason len() is only giving me back 1. here is an example of my output

WearWorks is a haptics design company that develops products and 
experiences that communicate information through touch. Our first product, 
Wayband, is a wearable tactile navigation device for the blind and visually 
impaired.
True
1

here is my code

import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from urllib.parse import urljoin

url="https://www.wear.works/"
response=requests.get(url)
html=response.content
soup=BeautifulSoup(html,'html.parser')

#reference https://stackoverflow.com/questions/328356/extracting-text-from-html-file-using-python
# getting rid of the script sytle in html
for script in soup(["script", "style"]):
    (script.extract())    # rip it out
    # print(script)

# get text
# grabbing the first chunk of text
text = soup.get_text()[0]
print(isinstance(text, str))
print(len(text))

print(text)

can you please share what does the `type(soup.get_text())` return? — iam.Carrot, Apr 25 '18 at 17:30
You've changed the whole question here mate. I am not sure that's advisable. I would recommend you put up another question and revert the changes to this question. — iam.Carrot, Apr 25 '18 at 17:39
I've rolled back your update. You can access the edit history and put up a new question for it. — iam.Carrot, Apr 25 '18 at 17:46
how about `final_required = [t for t in text.split('\n') if t.strip()][0]` right before the `print(text)` and replace `print(text)` with `print(final_required)`? Would it work for you? — iam.Carrot, Apr 25 '18 at 17:56
great! Not a problem. `For others: ` Refer to the edit history and see `revision 2` to actually know the reason for the above code line. — iam.Carrot, Apr 25 '18 at 18:02

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 25 '18 at 17:31

1

The problem is text = soup.get_text()[0] convert it to text = soup.get_text() have a look. You're slicing a string to get the first character.

answered Apr 25 '18 at 17:31

iam.Carrot

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yeah i just realized my question had some issued I'm going to edit it – Bob Apr 25 '18 at 17:32
@Bob well not a problem, do let me know when you've edited it – iam.Carrot Apr 25 '18 at 17:36
just edited, sorry for the wrong original question. everything should work now when you run my code – Bob Apr 25 '18 at 17:37

len() function not giving correct character number

1 Answers1