String methods were added to Python in the 1.6 to 2.0 timeframethey also were added to Jython. These methods replace most of the functionality in the string module as well as to add new functionality. Table 6.6 shows all the current methods for strings. All string methods should fully support Unicode strings. Some are applicable only to Unicode strings.
Table 6.6. String Type Built-in Methods
Method Name | Description |
|---|
string.capitalize() | Capitalizes first letter of string |
string.center(width) | Returns a space-padded string with the original string centered to a total of width columns |
string.count(str, beg= 0, end=len(string)) | Counts how many times str occurs in string, or in a substring of string if starting index beg and ending index end are given |
string.decode(encoding='UTF-8', errors='strict') | Returns decoded string version of string; on error, default is to raise a ValueError unless errors is given with 'ignore' or 'replace' |
string.encode(encoding='UTF-8', errors='strict')[a] | Returns encoded string version of string; on error, default is to raise a ValueError unless errors is given with 'ignore' or 'replace' |
string.endswith(obj, beg=0, end=len(string))[b],[e] | Determines if string or a substring of string (if starting index beg and ending index end are given) ends with obj where obj is typically a string; if obj is a tuple, then any of the strings in that tuple; returns true if so, and False otherwise |
string.expandtabs(tabsize=8) | Expands tabs in string to multiple spaces; defaults to 8 spaces per tab if tabsize not provided |
string.find(str, beg=0end=len(string)) | Determine if str occurs in string, or in a substring of string if starting index beg and ending index end are given; returns index if found and -1 otherwise |
string.index(str, beg=0, end=len(string)) | Same as find(), but raises an exception if str not found |
string.isalnum()[a],[b],[c] | Returns true if string has at least 1 character and all characters are alphanumeric and False otherwise |
string.isalpha()[a],[b],[c] | Returns TRue if string has at least 1 character and all characters are alphabetic and False otherwise |
string.isdecimal()[b],[c],[d] | Returns TRue if string contains only decimal digits and False otherwise |
string.isdigit()[b],[c] | Returns true if string contains only digits and False otherwise |
string.islower()[b],[c] | Returns true if string has at least 1 cased character and all cased characters are in lowercase and False otherwise |
string.isnumeric()[b],[c],[d] | Returns true if string contains only numeric characters and False otherwise |
string.isspace()[b],[c] | Returns true if string contains only whitespace characters and False otherwise |
string.istitle()[b],[c] | Returns true if string is properly "titlecased" (see title()) and False otherwise |
string.isupper()[b],[c] | Returns TRue if string has at least one cased character and all cased characters are in uppercase and False otherwise |
string.join(seq) | Merges (concatenates) the string representations of elements in sequence seq into a string, with separator string |
string.ljust(width) | Returns a space-padded string with the original string left-justified to a total of width columns |
string.lower() | Converts all uppercase letters in string to lowercase |
string.lstrip() | Removes all leading whitespace in string |
string.partition(str)[e] | Like a combination of find() and split(), splits string into a 3-tuple (string_pre_str, str, string_post_str) on the first occurrence of str; if not found, string_pre_str == string |
string.replace(str1, str2, num=string.count(str1)) | Replaces all occurrences of str1 in string with str2, or at most num occurrences if num given |
string.rfind(str, beg=0, end=len(string)) | Same as find(), but search backward in string |
string.rindex( str, beg=0, end=len(string)) | Same as index(), but search backward in string |
string.rjust(width) | Returns a space-padded string with the original string right-justified to a total of width columns |
string.rpartition(str)[e] | Same as partition(), but search backwards in string |
string.rstrip() | Removes all trailing whitespace of string |
string.split(str="", num=string.count(str)) | Splits string according to delimiter str (space if not provided) and returns list of substrings; split into at most num substrings if given |
string.splitlines(num=string.count('\n'))[b],[c] | Splits string at all (or num) NEWLINEs and returns a list of each line with NEWLINEs removed |
string.startswith(obj, beg=0, end=len(string))[b],[e] | Determines if string or a substring of string (if starting index beg and ending index end are given) starts with obj where obj is typically a string; if obj is a tuple, then any of the strings in that tuple; returns true if so, and False otherwise |
string.strip([obj]) | Performs both lstrip() and rstrip() on string |
string.swapcase() | Inverts case for all letters in string |
string.title()[b],[c] | Returns "titlecased" version of string, that is, all words begin with uppercase, and the rest are lowercase (also see istitle()) |
string.translate(str, del="") | Translates string according to translation table str (256 chars), removing those in the del string |
string.upper() | Converts lowercase letters in string to uppercase |
string.zfill(width) | Returns original string left-padded with zeros to a total of width characters; intended for numbers, zfill() retains any sign given (less one zero) |
