Coding Practice

Difference between a regular string and a raw string in Python

In Python, a regular string is a string that is interpreted according to the rules of the Python interpreter. This means that special characters, such as newline (\n) or tab (\t), are processed and converted into their appropriate representation. For example, the string "Hello\nWorld" would be interpreted as two separate lines, with "Hello" on the first line and "World" on the second line.

A raw string, on the other hand, is a string that is taken exactly as it is, without any special processing. Raw strings are denoted by prefixing the string with the letter r. For example, the string r"Hello\nWorld" would be taken literally, without the \n being interpreted as a newline character.

The main difference between a regular string and a raw string is that a regular string allows for special characters and escape sequences to be processed, while a raw string does not. Raw strings are often used when dealing with file paths or regular expressions, where backslashes are a common part of the syntax. By using a raw string, you can ensure that the backslashes in the string are taken literally, without being interpreted as escape characters.

Here's an example in Python that demonstrates the difference between a regular string and a raw string:

Source Code
# Regular string
string1 = "Hello\nWorld"
print(string1)

# Raw string
string2 = r"Hello\nWorld"
print(string2)
Sample Output
Hello
World
Hello\nWorld

As you can see, the regular string string1 is interpreted by the Python interpreter and the newline character (\n) is processed, resulting in "Hello" being printed on one line and "World" being printed on the next line.

In contrast, the raw string string2 is taken exactly as it is written, and the newline character is not processed. The output of string2 is the literal string "Hello\nWorld".

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