• and
  • as
  • assert
  • async
  • await
  • break
  • case1
  • class
  • continue
  • def
  • del
  • elif
  • else
  • except
  • False
  • finally
  • for
  • from
  • global
  • if
  • import
  • in
  • is
  • lambda
  • match1
  • None
  • nonlocal
  • not
  • or
  • pass
  • raise
  • return
  • True
  • try
  • type1
  • while
  • with
  • yield
  • _1
1Soft keywords
abs(number)
Absolute value of number
aiter(async_iterable)
Asynchronous iterator for an asynchronous iterable
all(iterable)
True if all elements of iterable are true (all([]) is True)
any(iterable)
True if any element of iterable is true (any([]) is False)
ascii(object)
A string with a printable representation of an object
bin(number)
Convert integer number to binary string
bool(object)
Boolean value
breakpoint(*args, **kwds)
Drop into debugger via sys.breakpointhook(*args, **kwds)
bytearray(…)
New array of bytes from byte-integers, string, bytes, object with buffer API
bytes(…)
New bytes object from byte-integers, string, bytes
callable(object)
True if object is callable
chr(i)
One character string for unicode ordinal i (0 <= i <= 0x10ffff)
classmethod(func)
Transform function into class method
compile(source, …)
Compile source into code or AST object
complex(real=0, imag=0)
Complex number with the value real + imag*1j
delattr(object, name)
Delete the named attribute, if object allows
dict(…)
Create new dictionary
dir([object])
List of names in the local scope, or object.__dir__() or attributes
divmod(x, y)
Return (quotient x//y, remainder x%y)
enumerate(iterable, start=0)
Enumerate object as (n, item) pairs with n initialised to start value
eval(source, globals=None, locals=None)
Execute Python expression, string or code object from compile()
exec(source, globals=None, locals=None)
Execute Python statements, string or code object from compile()
filter(func, iterable)
Iterator yielding items where func(item) is true, or bool(item) if func is None
float(x=0)
Floating point number from number or string
format(object, format_spec='')
Formatted representation
frozenset(…)
New frozenset object
getattr(object, name[, default])
Get value of named attribute of object, else default or raise exception
globals()
Dictionary of current module namespace
hasattr(object, name)
True if object has named attribute
hash(object)
Hash value of object (see object.__hash__())
help(…)
Built-in help system
hex(number)
Convert integer to lowercase hexadecimal string
id(object)
Return unique integer identifier of object
__import__(name, …)
Invoked by the import statement
input(prompt='')
Read string from stdin, with optional prompt
int(…)
Create integer from number or string
isinstance(object, cls_or_tuple)
True if object is instance of given class(es)
issubclass(cls, cls_or_tuple)
True if class is subclass of given class(es)
iter(object, …)
Iterator for object
len(object)
Length of object
list(…)
Create list
locals()
Dictionary of current local symbol table
map(func, *iterables)
Apply function to every item of iterable(s)
max(…, key=func)
Largest item of iterable or arguments, optional key function extracts value
memoryview(object)
Access internal object data via buffer protocol
min(…, key=func)
Smallest item of iterable or arguments, optional key function extracts value
next(iterator[, default])
Next item from iterator, optionally return default instead of StopIteration
object()
New featureless object
oct(number)
Convert integer to octal string
open(file, …)
Open file object
ord(chr)
Integer representing Unicode code point of character
pow(base, exp, mod=None)
Return base to the power of exp
print(value, …)
Print object to text stream file
property(…)
Property decorator
range(…)
Generate integer sequence
repr(object)
String representation of object for debugging
reversed(sequence)
Reverse iterator
round(number, ndigits=None)
Number rounded to ndigits precision after decimal point
set(…)
New set object
setattr(object, name, value)
Set object attribute value by name
slice(…)
Slice object representing a set of indices
sorted(iterable, key=None, reverse=False)
New sorted list from the items in iterable
staticmethod(func)
Transform function into static method
str(…)
String description of object
sum(iterable, start=0)
Sums items of iterable, optionally adding start value
super(…)
Proxy object that delegates method calls to parent or sibling
tuple(iterable)
Create a tuple
type(…)
Type of an object, or build new type
vars([object])
Return object.__dict__ or locals() if no argument
zip(*iterables, strict=False)
Iterate over multiple iterables in parallel, strict requires equal length
Precedence (high->low) Description
(…,) […,] {…,} {…:…,} tuple, list, set, dict
s[i] s[i:j] s.attr f(…) index, slice, attribute, function call
await x await expression
+x, -x, ~x unary positive, negative, bitwise NOT
x ** y power
x * y, x @ y, x / y, x // y, x % y multiply, maxtrix multiply, divide, floor divide, modulus
x + y, x - y add, substract
x << y x >> y bitwise shift left, right
x & y bitwise and
x ^ y bitwise exclusive or
x | y bitwise or
x<y x<=y x>y x>=y x==y x!=y x is y x is not y x in s x not in s comparison, identity, membership
not x boolean negation
x and y boolean and
x or y boolean or
… if … else … conditional expression
lambda lambda expression
:= assignment expression
Assignment Usually equivalent
a = b Assign object b to label a
a += b a = a + b
a -= b a = a - b
a *= b a = a * b
a /= b a = a / b (true division)
a //= b a = a // b (floor division)
a %= b a = a % b
a **= b a = a ** b
a &= b a = a & b
a |= b a = a | b
a ^= b a = a ^ b
a >>= b a = a >> b
a <<= b a = a << b

Assign and return value using the walrus operator.

if matching := pattern.search(data):
    do_something(matching)

count = 0
while (count := count + 1) < 5:
    print(count)

>>> z = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
>>> [x for i in z if (x:=i**2) > 10]
[16, 25]

Unpack multiple values to a name using the splat operator.

head, *body       = s  # assign first value of s to head, remainder to body
head, *body, tail = s  # assign first and last values of s to head and tail, remainder to body
*body, tail       = s  # assign last value of s to tail, remainder to body
s  = [*iterable[, …]]  # unpack to list
s  = (*iterable[, …])  # unpack to tuple
s  = {*iterable[, …]}  # unpack to set
d2 = {**d1[, …]}       # unpack to dict
for item in <iterable>:
    …
[else:                     # if loop completes without break
    …]

while <condition>:
    …
[else:                     # if loop completes without break
    …]

break                      # immediately exit loop
continue                   # skip to next loop iteration
return[ value]             # exit function, return value | None
yield[ value]              # exit generator, yield value | None
assert <expr>[, message]   # if not <expr> raise AssertionError([message])
if <condition>:
    …
[elif <condition>:
    …]*
[else:
    …]

<expression1> if <condition> else <expression2>

with <expression>[ as name]: # context manager
  …

A with statement takes an object with special methods:

  • __enter__() - locks resources and optionally returns an object
  • __exit__() - releases resources, handles any exception raised in the block, optionally suppressing it by returning True
class AutoClose:
    def __init__(self, filename):
        self.filename = filename
    def __enter__(self):
        self.f = open(self.filename)
        return self.f
    def __exit__(self, exc_type, exception, traceback):
        self.f.close()
>>> with open('test.txt', 'w') as f:
...        f.write('Hello World!')
>>> with AutoClose('test.txt') as f:
...        print(f.read())
Hello World!
3.10+
match <expression>:
    case <pattern>[ if <condition>]:  # conditional match, if "guard" clause
         …
    case <pattern1> | <pattern2>:     # OR pattern
         …
    case _:                           # default case
         …
Match case pattern
1/'abc'/True/None/math.pi
Value pattern, match literal or dotted name
<name>
Capture pattern, match any object and bind to name
_
Wildcard pattern, match any object
<type>()
Class pattern, match any object of that type
<type>(<attr>=<pattern|name>, …)
Class pattern, match object with matching attributes
<pattern> | <pattern> [| …]
Or pattern, match any of the patterns left to right
[<pattern>[, …[, *args]]
Sequence pattern (list|tuple), match any sequence with matching items (but not string or iterator), may be nested
{<value_pattern>: <pattern>[, …[, **kwds]]}
Mapping pattern, match dictionary with matching items, may be nested
<pattern> as <name>
Bind match to name
<builtin>(<name>)
Builtin pattern, shortcut for <builtin>() as <name> (e.g. str, int)
  • Class patterns
    • Do not create a new instance of the class
    • Accept positional parameters if class defines __match_args__ special attribute (e.g. dataclass)
  • Sequence patterns support assignment unpacking
  • Names bound in a match statement are visible after the match statement

Scope levels:

Builtin
Names pre-assigned in builtins module
Module (global)
Names defined in current module Code in global scope cannot access local variables
Enclosing (closure)
Names defined in any enclosing functions
Function (local)
Names defined in current function By default, has read-only access to module and enclosing function names By default, assignment creates a new local name global <name> grants read/write access to specified module name nonlocal <name> grants read/write access to specified name in closest enclosing function defining that name
Generator expression
Names contained within generator expression
Comprehension
Names contained within comprehension
Class
Names shared across all instances
Instance
Names contained within a specific instance
Method
Names contained within a specific instance method
  • globals() - return dict of module scope variables
  • locals() - return dict of local scope variables
>>> global_name = 1
>>> def read_global():
...     print(global_name)
...     local_name = "only available in this function"
>>> read_global()
1
>>> def write_global():
...     global global_name
...     global_name = 2
>>> write_global()
>>> print(global_name)
2
>>> def write_nonlocal():
...     closure_name = 1
...     def nested():
...         nonlocal closure_name
...         closure_name = 2
...     nested()
...     print(closure_name)
>>> write_nonlocal()
2
class C:
    class_name = 1
    def __init__(self):
        self.instance_name = 2
    def method(self):
        self.instance_name = 3
        C.class_name = 3
        method_name = 1

Operations on sequence types (Bytes, List, Tuple, String).

x in s
True if any s[i] == x
x not in s
True if no s[i] == x
s1 + s2
Concatenate s1 and s2
s * n, n * s
Concatenate n copies of s
s.count(x)
Count of s[i] == x
len(s)
Count of items
min(s)
Smallest item
max(s)
Largest item
s.index(x[, start[, stop]])
Smallest i where s[i] == x, start/stop bounds search
reversed(s)
Iterator on s in reverse order (for string: reversed(list(s)))
sorted(s, cmp=func, key=getter, reverse=False)
New sorted list

Select items from sequence by index or slice.

>>> s = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
>>> s[0]               # 0-based indexing
0
>>> s[-1]              # negative indexing from end
4
>>> s[slice(2)]        # slice(stop) - index from 0 until stop (exclusive)
[0, 1]
>>> s[slice(1, 5, 3)]  # slice(start, stop[, step]) - index from start to stop (exclusive), with optional step size (+|-)
[1, 4]
>>> s[:2]              # slices are created implicitly when indexing with ':' [start:stop:step]
[0, 1]
>>> s[3::-1]           # negative step
[3, 2, 1, 0]
>>> s[1:3]
[1, 2]
>>> s[1:5:2]
[1, 3]
  • A sortable class should define __eq__(), __lt__(), __gt__(), __le__() and __ge__() special methods.
  • With functools @total_ordering decorator a class need only provide __eq__() and one other comparison special method.
  • Sequence comparison: values are compared in order until a pair of unequal values is found. The comparison of these two values is then returned. If all values are equal, the shorter sequence is lesser.
from functools import total_ordering

@total_ordering
class C:
    def __init__(self, a):
        self.a = a
    def __eq__(self, other):
        if isinstance(other, type(self)):
            return self.a == other.a
        return NotImplemented
    def __lt__(self, other):
        if isinstance(other, type(self)):
            return self.a < other.a
        return NotImplemented

Immutable hashable sequence.

s = (1, 'a', 3.0) s = 1, 'a', 3.0
Create tuple
s = (1,)
Single-item tuple
s = ()
Empty tuple
(1, 2, 3) == (1, 2) + (3,)
Add makes new tuple
(1, 2, 1, 2) == (1, 2) * 2
Multiply makes new tuple

Tuple subclass with named items. Also typing.NamedTuple.

>>> from collections import namedtuple
>>> Point = namedtuple('Point', ('x', 'y')) # or namedtuple('Point', 'x y')
>>> p = Point(1, y=2)
Point(x=1, y=2)
>>> p[0]
1
>>> p.y
2

Mutable non-hashable sequence.

s = [1, 'a', 3.0] s = list(range(3))
Create list
s[i] = x
Replace item index i with x
s[<slice>] = it
Replace slice with iterable
del s[<slice>] s[<slice>] = []
Remove slice
s.append(x) s += x s[len(s):len(s)] = [x]
Add item to end
s.extend(it) s[len(s):len(s)] = it
Add items from iterable to end
s.insert(i, x) s[i:i] = [x]
Insert item at index i
s.remove(x) del s[s.index(x)]
Remove first item where s[i] == x
y = s.pop([i])
Remove and return last item or indexed item
s.reverse()
Reverse items in place
s.sort(cmp=func, key=getter, reverse=False)
Sort items in place, default ascending
result = [<expression> for item1 in <iterable1>{ if <condition1>}
            {for item2 in <iterable2>{ if <condition2>} … for itemN in <iterableN>{ if <conditionN>}}]

# is equivalent to:

result = []
for item1 in <iterable1>:
    for item2 in <iterable2>:
        …
        for itemN in <iterableN>:
            if <condition1> and <condition2> … and <conditionN>:
                result.append(<expression>)

Mutable non-hashable key:value pair mapping.

dict() {}
Empty dict
dict(<sequence|mapping>) {'d':4, 'a':2}
Create from key:value pairs
dict(**kwds)
Create from keyword arguments
dict(zip(keys, values))
Create from sequences of keys and values
dict.fromkeys(keys, value=None)
Create from keys, all set to value
d.keys()
Iterable of keys
d.values()
Iterable of values
d.items()
Iterable of (key, value) pairs
d.get(key, default=None)
Get value for key, or default
d.setdefault(key, default=None)
Get value for key, add if missing
d.pop(key)
Remove and return value for key, raise KeyError if missing
d.popitem()
Remove and return (key, value) pair (last-in, first-out)
d.clear()
Remove all items
d.copy()
Shallow copy
d1.update(d2) d1 |= d23.9+
Add/replace key:value pairs from d2 to d1
d3 = d1 | d23.9+ d3 = {**d1, **d2}
Merge to new dict, d2 trumps d1
# defaultdict(<callable>) sets default value returned by callable()
import collections
collections.defaultdict(lambda: 42) # dict with default value 42
# {k: v for k, v in <iterable>[ if <condition>]}

>>> {x: x**2 for x in (2, 4, 6) if x < 5}
{2: 4, 4: 16}

Mutable (set) and immutable (frozenset) sets.

set()
Empty set
{1, 2, 3}
Create (note: {} creates empty dict - sad!)
set(iterable) {*iterable}
Create from iterable
frozenset(iterable=None)
Create frozen set
len(s)
Cardinality
v in s v not in s
Test membership
s1.issubset(s2)
True if s1 is subset of s2
s1.issuperset(s2)
True if s1 is superset of s2
s.add(v) [mutable]
Add element
s.remove(v) [mutable]
Remove element (KeyError if not found)
s.discard(v) [mutable]
Remove element if present
s.pop() [mutable]
Remove and return arbitrary element (KeyError if empty)
s.clear() [mutable]
Remove all elements
s1.intersection(s2[, s3…]) s1 & s2
New set of shared elements
s1.intersection_update(s2) [mutable]
Update elements to intersection with s2
s1.union(s2[, s3…]) s1 | s2
New set of all elements
s1.difference(s2[, s3…]) s1 - s2
New set of elements unique to s1
s1.difference_update(s2) [mutable]
Remove elements intersecting with s2
s1.symmetric_difference(s2) s1 ^ s2
New set of unshared elements
s1.symmetric_difference_update(s2) [mutable]
Update elements to symmetric difference with s2
s.copy()
Shallow copy
s.update(it1[, it2…]) [mutable]
Add elements from iterables
# {x for x in <iterable>[ if <condition>]}

>>> {x for x in 'abracadabra' if x not in 'abc'}
{'r', 'd'}

Immutable sequence of bytes. Mutable version is bytearray.

b'<str>'
Create from ASCII characters and \x00-\xff
bytes(<ints>)
Create from int sequence
bytes(<str>, 'utf-8') <str>.encode('utf-8')
Create from string
<int>.to_bytes(length, order, signed=False)
Create from int (order='big'|'little')
bytes.fromhex('<hex>')
Create from hex pairs (can be separated by whitespace)
<int> = <bytes>[<index>]
Return int in range 0 to 255
<bytes> = <bytes>[<slice>]
Return bytes even if only one element
list(<bytes>)
Return ints in range 0 to 255
<bytes_sep>.join(<byte_objs>)
Join byte_objs sequence with bytes_sep separator
str(<bytes>, 'utf-8') <bytes>.decode('utf-8')
Convert bytes to string
int.from_bytes(bytes, order, signed=False)
Return int from bytes (order='big'|'little')
<bytes>.hex(sep='', bytes_per_sep=2)
Return hex pairs
def read_bytes(filename):
    with open(filename, 'rb') as f:
        return f.read()

def write_bytes(filename, bytes_obj):
    with open(filename, 'wb') as f:
        f.write(bytes_obj)
# var-positional
def f(*args): …            # f(1, 2)
def f(x, *args): …         # f(1, 2)
def f(*args, z): …         # f(1, z=2)

# var-keyword
def f(**kwds): …           # f(x=1, y=2)
def f(x, **kwds): …        # f(x=1, y=2) | f(1, y=2)

def f(*args, **kwds): …    # f(x=1, y=2) | f(1, y=2) | f(1, 2)
def f(x, *args, **kwds): … # f(x=1, y=2, z=3) | f(1, y=2, z=3) | f(1, 2, z=3) | f(1, 2, 3)
def f(*args, y, **kwds): … # f(x=1, y=2, z=3) | f(1, y=2, z=3)

# positional-only before /
def f(x, /, y): …          # f(1, 2) | f(1, y=2)
def f(x, y, /): …          # f(1, 2)

# keyword-only after *
def f(x, *, y): …          # f(x=1, y=2) | f(1, y=2)
def f(*, x, y): …          # f(x=1, y=2)
args = (1, 2)              # *  expands sequence to positional arguments
kwds = {'x': 3, 'y': 4}    # ** expands dictionary to keyword arguments
func(*args, **kwds)        # is the same as:
func(1, 2, x=3, y=4)
class C:
    """Class docstring."""
    def __init__(self, a):
        """Method docstring."""
        self.a = a
    def __repr__(self):
        """Used for repr(c), also for str(c) if __str__ not defined."""
        return f'{self.__class__.__name__}({self.a!r})'
    def __str__(self):
        """Used by str(c), e.g. print(c)"""
        return str(self.a)
    @classmethod
    def get_class_name(cls): # passed class rather than instance
        return cls.__name__
    @staticmethod
    def static(): # passed nothing
        return 1

>>> c = C(2) # instantiate

# under the covers, class instantiation does this:
obj = cls.__new__(cls, *args, **kwds)
if isinstance(obj, cls):
    obj.__init__(*args, **kwds)
class C:
    @property
    def f(self):
        if not hasattr(self, '_f'):
            return
        return self._f
    @f.setter
    def f(self, value):
        self._f = value
Operator Method
self + other other + self self += other __add__(self, other) __radd__(self, other) __iadd__(self, other)
self - other other - self self -= other __sub__(self, other) __rsub__(self, other) __isub__(self, other)
self * other other * self self *= other __mul__(self, other) __rmul__(self, other) __imul__(self, other)
self @ other other @ self self @= other __matmul__(self, other) __rmatmul__(self, other) __imatmul__(self, other)
self / other other / self self /= other __truediv__(self, other) __rtruediv__(self, other) __itruediv__(self, other)
self // other other // self self //= other __floordiv__(self, other) __rfloordiv__(self, other) __ifloordiv__(self, other)
self % other other % self self %= other __mod__(self, other) __rmod__(self, other) __imod__(self, other)
self ** other other ** self self **= other __pow__(self, other) __rpow__(self, other) __ipow__(self, other)
self << other other << self self <<= other __lshift__(self, other) __rlshift__(self, other) __ilshift__(self, other)
self >> other other >> self self >>= other __rshift__(self, other) __rrshift__(self, other) __irshift__(self, other)
self & other other & self self &= other __and__(self, other) __rand__(self, other) __iand__(self, other)
self | other other | self self |= other __or__(self, other) __ror__(self, other) __ior__(self, other)
self ^ other other ^ self self ^= other __xor__(self, other) __rxor__(self, other) __ixor__(self, other)
divmod(self, other) divmod(self, other) __divmod__(self, other) __rdivmod__(self, other)
Operator Method
-self __neg__(self)
+self __pos__(self)
abs(self) __abs__(self)
~self __invert__(self) [bitwise]
self == other __eq__(self) [default 'is', requires __hash__]
self != other __ne__(self)
self < other __lt__(self, other)
self <= other __le__(self, other)
self > other __gt__(self, other)
self >= other __ge__(self, other)
item in self __contains__(self, item)
bool(self) if self: if not self: __bool__(self)
bytes(self) __bytes__(self)
complex(self) __complex__(self)
float(self) __float__(self)
int(self) __int__(self)
round(self) __round__(self[, ndigits])
math.ceil(self) __ceil__(self)
math.floor(self) __floor__(self)
math.trunc(self) __trunc__(self)
Operator Method
dir(self) __dir__(self)
format(self) __format__(self, format_spec)
hash(self) __hash__(self)
iter(self) __iter__(self)
len(self) __len__(self)
repr(self) __repr__(self)
reversed(self) __reversed__(self)
str(self) self(*args, **kwds) __str__(self) __call__(self, *args, **kwds)
self[…] __getitem__(self, key)
self[…] = 1 __setitem__(self, key, value)
del self[…] __delitem__(self, key)
other[self] __index__(self)
self.name __getattribute__(self, name) __getattr__(self, name) [if AttributeError]
self.name = 1 __setattr__(self, name, value)
del self.name __delattr__(self, name)
with self: __enter__(self) __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_value, traceback)
await self __await__(self)

Decorator syntax passes a function or class to a callable and replaces it with the return value.

def show_call(obj):
    """
    Decorator that prints obj name and arguments each time obj is called.
    """
    def show_call_wrapper(*args, **kwds):
        print(obj.__name__, args, kwds)
        return obj(*args, **kwds)
    return show_call_wrapper

@show_call # function decorator
def add(x, y):
    return x + y

# is equivalent to
add = show_call(add)

>>> add(13, 29)
add (13, 29) {}
42

@show_call # class decorator
class C:
    def __init__(self, a=None):
        pass

# is equivalent to
C = show_call(C)

>>> C(a=42)
C () {'a': 42}
# decorators optionally take arguments
def show_call_if(condition):
    """
    Apply show_call decorator only if condition is True.
    """
    return show_call if condition else lambda obj: obj

@show_call_if(False)
def add(x, y):
    return x + y

# is equivalent to
add = show_call_if(False)(add)

>>> add(13, 29)
42

@show_call_if(True)
def add(x, y):
    return x + y

>>> add(13, 29)
add (13, 29) {}
42

>>> add.__name__
'show_call_wrapper' # ugh! decorated function has different metadata

# @wraps decorator copies metadata of decorated object to wrapped object
# preserving original attributes (e.g. __name__)
from functools import wraps

def show_call_preserve_meta(obj):
    @wraps(obj)
    def show_call_wrapper(*args, **kwds):
        print(obj.__name__, args, kwds)
        return obj(*args, **kwds)
    return show_call_wrapper

@show_call_preserve_meta
def add(x, y):
    return x + y

>>> add.__name__
'add'

An iterator implements the __iter__() method, returning an iterable that implements the __next__() method. The __next__() method returns the next item in the collection and raises StopIteration when done.

class C:
    def __init__(self, items):
        self.items = items

    def __iter__(self):
        """Make class its own iterable."""
        return self

    def __next__(self):
        """Implement to be iterable."""
        if self.items:
            return self.items.pop()
        raise StopIteration
>>> c = C([13, 29])
>>> it = iter(c)    # get iterator
>>> next(it)        # get next item
29
>>> for item in c:  # iterate over C instance
...     print(item)
13

A function with a yield statement returns a generator iterator and suspends function processing. Each iteration over the generator iterator resumes function execution, returns the next yield value, and suspends again.

def gen():
    """Generator function"""
    for i in [13, 29]:
        yield i

>>> g = gen()
>>> next(g)            # next value
13
>>> for item in gen(): # iterate over values
...     print(item)
13
29
>>> list(gen())        # list all values
[13, 29]

def parent_gen():
    yield from gen()   # delegate yield to another generator

>>> list(parent_gen())
[13, 29]
# (<expression> for <name> in <iterable>[ if <condition>])
>>> g = (item for item in [13, 29] if item > 20)
>>> list(g)
[29]

Immutable sequence of characters.

<substring> in s
True if string contains substring
s.startswith(<prefix>[, start[, end]])
True if string starts with prefix, optionally search bounded substring
s.endswith(<suffix>[, start[, end]])
True if string ends with suffix, optionally search bounded substring
s.strip(chars=None)
Strip whitespace from both ends, or passed characters
s.lstrip(chars=None)
Strip whitespace from left end, or passed characters
s.rstrip(chars=None)
Strip whitespace from right end, or passed characters
s.ljust(width, fillchar=' ')
Left justify with fillchar
s.rjust(width, fillchar=' ')
Right justify with fillchar
s.center(width, fillchar=' ')
Center with fillchar
s.split(sep=None, maxsplit=-1)
Split on whitespace, or sep str at most maxsplit times
s.splitlines(keepends=False)
Split lines on [\n\r\f\v\x1c-\x1e\x85\u2028\u2029] and \r\n
<separator>.join(<strings>)
Join sequence of strings with separator string
s.find(<substring>)
Index of first match or -1
s.index(<substring>)
Index of first match or raise ValueError
s.lower()
To lower case
s.upper()
To upper case
s.title()
To title case (The Quick Brown Fox)
s.capitalize()
Capitalize first letter
s.replace(old, new[, count])
Replace old with new at most count times
s.translate(<table>)
Use str.maketrans(<dict>) to generate table
chr(<int>)
Integer to Unicode character
ord(<str>)
Unicode character to integer
s.isdecimal()
True if [0-9], [०-९] or [٠-٩]
s.isdigit()
True if isdecimal() or [²³¹…]
s.isnumeric()
True if isdigit() or [¼½¾零〇一…]
s.isalnum()
True if isnumeric() or [a-zA-Z…]
s.isprintable()
True if isalnum() or [ !#$%…]
s.isspace()
True if [ \t\n\r\f\v\x1c-\x1f\x85\xa0…]
head, sep, tail = s.partition(<separator>)
Search for separator from start and split
head, sep, tail = s.rpartition(<separator>)
Search for separator from end and split
s.removeprefix(<prefix>)3.9+
Remove prefix if present
s.removesuffix(<suffix>)3.9+
Remove suffix if present
Sequence Escape
Literal backslash \\
Single quote \'
Double quote \"
Backspace \b
Carriage return \r
Sequence Escape
Newline \n
Tab \t
Vertical tab \v
Null \0
Hex value \xff
Sequence Escape
Octal value \o77
Unicode 16 bit \uxxxx
Unicode 32 bit \Uxxxxxxxx
Unicode name \N{name}
Format f-string Output
Escape curly braces f"{{}}" '{}'
Expression f"{6/3}, {'a'+'b'}" '{}, {}'.format(6/3, 'a'+'b') '2, ab'
Justify left f'{1:<5}' '1 '
Justify center f'{1:^5}' ' 1 '
Justify right f'{1:>5}' ' 1'
Justify left with char f'{1:.<5}' '1....'
Justify right with char f'{1:.>5}' '....1'
Trim f"{'abc':.2}" 'ab'
Trim justify left f"{'abc':6.2}" 'ab '
ascii() f'{v!a}' ascii(v)
repr() f'{v!r}' repr(v)
str() f'{v!s}' str(v)
Justify left repr() f"{'abc'!r:6}" "'abc' "
Date format f'{today:%d %b %Y}' '21 Jan 1984'
Format f-string Output
Significant figures f'{1.234:.2}' '1.2'
Fixed-point notation f'{1.234:.2f}' '1.23'
Scientific notation f'{1.234:.2e}' '1.230e+00'
Percentage f'{1.234:.2%}' '123.40%'
Pad with zeros f'{1.7:04}' '01.7'
Pad with spaces f'{1.7:4}' ' 1.7'
Pad before sign f'{123456:+6}' ' +123'
Pad after sign f'{123456:=+6}' '+ 123'
Separate with commas f'{123456:,}' '123,456'
Separate with underscores f'{123456:_}' '123_456'
f'{1+1=}' f'{1+1=}' '1+1=2' (= prepends)
Binary f'{164:b}' '10100100'
Octal f'{164:o}' '244'
Hex f'{164:X}' 'A4'
chr() f'{164:c}' 'ÿ'

Standard library re module provides Python regular expressions.

>>> import re
>>> my_re = re.compile(r'name is (?P<name>[A-Za-z]+)')
>>> match = my_re.search('My name is Douglas.')
>>> match.group()
'name is Douglas'
>>> match.group(1)
'Douglas'
>>> match.groupdict()['name']
'Douglas'
.
Any character (newline if DOTALL)
^
Start of string (every line if MULTILINE)
$
End of string (every line if MULTILINE)
*
0 or more of preceding
+
1 or more of preceding
?
0 or 1 of preceding
*?, +?, ??
Same as *, + and ?, as few as possible
{m,n}
m to n repetitions
{m,n}?
m to n repetitions, as few as possible
[…]
Character set: e.g. '[a-zA-Z]'
[^…]
NOT character set
\
Escape chars '*?+&$|()', introduce special sequences
\\
Literal '\'
|
Or
(…)
Group
(?:…)
Non-capturing group
(?P<name>…)
Named group
(?P=name)
Match text matched by earlier group
(?=…)
Match next, non-consumptive
(?!…)
Non-match next, non-consumptive
(?<=…)
Match preceding, positive lookbehind assertion
(?<!…)
Non-match preceding, negative lookbehind assertion
(?(group)A|B)
Conditional match - A if group previously matched else B
(?letters)
Set flags for RE ('i','L', 'm', 's', 'u', 'x')
(?#…)
Comment (ignored)
\<n>
Match by integer group reference starting from 1
\A
Start of string
\b
Word boundary (see flag: ASCII|LOCALE)
\B
Not word boundary (see flag: ASCII|LOCALE)
\d
Decimal digit (see flag: ASCII)
\D
Non-decimal digit (see flag: ASCII)
\s
Whitespace [ \t\n\r\f\v] (see flag: ASCII)
\S
Non-whitespace (see flag: ASCII)
\w
Alphanumeric (see flag: ASCII|LOCALE)
\W
Non-alphanumeric (see flag: ASCII|LOCALE)
\Z
End of string

Flags modify regex behaviour. Pass to regex functions (e.g. re.A | re.ASCII) or embed in regular expression (e.g. (?a)).

(?a) | A | ASCII
ASCII-only match for \w, \W, \b, \B, \d, \D, \s, \S (default is Unicode)
(?i) | I | IGNORECASE
Case insensitive matching
(?L) | L | LOCALE
Apply current locale for \w, \W, \b, \B (discouraged)
(?m) | M | MULTILINE
Match every new line, not only start/end of string
(?s) | S | DOTALL
'.' matches ALL chars, including newline
(?x) | X | VERBOSE
Ignores whitespace outside character sets
DEBUG
Display expression debug info
compile(pattern[, flags=0])
Compiles Regular Expression Object
escape(string)
Escape non-alphanumerics
match(pattern, string[, flags])
Match from start
search(pattern, string[, flags])
Match anywhere
split(pattern, string[, maxsplit=0])
Splits by pattern, keeping splitter if grouped
findall(pattern, string)
Non-overlapping matches as list of groups or tuples (>1)
finditer(pattern, string[, flags])
Iterator over non-overlapping matches
sub(pattern, repl, string[, count=0])
Replace count first leftmost non-overlapping; If repl is function, called with a MatchObj
subn(pattern, repl, string[, count=0])
Like sub(), but returns (newString, numberOfSubsMade)
flags
Flags
groupindex
{group name: group number}
pattern
Pattern
match(string[, pos][, endpos])
Match from start of target[pos:endpos]
search(string[, pos][, endpos])
Match anywhere in target[pos:endpos]
split(string[, maxsplit=0])
See split() function
findall(string[, pos[, endpos]])
See findall() function
finditer(string[, pos[, endpos]])
See finditer() function
sub(repl, string[, count=0])
See sub() function
subn(repl, string[, count=0])
See subn() function
pos
pos passed to search or match
endpos
endpos passed to search or match
re
RE object
group([g1, g2, ...])
One or more groups of match One arg, result is a string Multiple args, result is tuple If gi is 0, returns the entire matching string If 1 <= gi <= 99, returns string matching group (None if no such group) May also be a group name Tuple of match groups Non-participating groups are None String if len(tuple)==1
start(group), end(group)
Indices of start & end of group match (None if group exists but didn't contribute)
span(group)
(start(group), end(group)); (None, None) if group didn't contibute
string
String passed to match() or search()
bool([object]) True, False
Boolean
int([float|str|bool]) 5
Integer
float([int|str|bool]) 5.1, 1.2e-4
Float (inexact, compare with math.isclose(<float>, <float>)
complex(real=0, imag=0) 3 - 2j, 2.1 + 0.8j
Complex
fractions.Fraction(<numerator>, <denominator>)
Fraction
decimal.Decimal([str|int])
Decimal (exact, set precision: decimal.getcontext().prec = <int>)
bin([int]) 0b101010 int('101010', 2) int('0b101010', 0)
Binary
hex([int]) 0x2a int('2a', 16) int('0x2a', 0)
Hex

Also see built-in functions abs, pow, round, sum, min, max.

from math import (e, pi, inf, nan, isinf, isnan,
                  sin, cos, tan, asin, acos, atan, degrees, radians,
                  log, log10, log2)
from statistics import mean, median, variance, stdev, quantiles, groupby
>>> from random import random, randint, choice, shuffle, gauss, triangular, seed
>>> random() # float inside [0, 1)
0.42
>>> randint(1, 100) # int inside [<from>, <to>]
42
>>> choice(range(100)) # random item from sequence
42

The datetime module provides immutable hashable date, time, datetime, and timedelta classes.

Code Output
%a Day name short (Mon)
%A Day name full (Monday)
%b Month name short (Jan)
%B Month name full (January)
%c Locale datetime format
%d Day of month [01,31]
%f Microsecond [000000,999999]
%H Hour (24-hour) [00,23]
Code Output
%I Hour (12-hour) [01,12]
%j Day of year [001,366]
%m Month [01,12]
%M Minute [00,59]
%p Locale format for AM/PM
%S Second [00,61]. Yes, 61!
%U Week number (Sunday start) [00(partial),53]
%w Day number [0(Sunday),6]
Code Output
%W Week number (Monday start) [00(partial),53]
%x Locale date format
%X Locale time format
%y Year without century [00,99]
%Y Year with century (2023)
%Z Time zone ('' if no TZ)
%z UTC offset (+HHMM/-HHMM, '' if no TZ)
%% Literal '%'
try:
    …
[except [<Exception>[ as e]]:
    …]
[except:  # catch all
    …]
[else:    # if no exception
    …]
[finally: # always executed
    …]

raise <exception>[ from <exception|None>]

try:
    1 / 0
except ZeroDivisionError:
    # from None hides exception context
    raise TypeError("Hide ZeroDivisionError") from None
BaseException					   Base class for all exceptions
├─ BaseExceptionGroup			   Base class for groups of exceptions
├─ GeneratorExit				   Generator close() raises to terminate iteration
├─ KeyboardInterrupt			   On user interrupt key (often 'CTRL-C')
├─ SystemExit					   On sys.exit()
└─ Exception					   Base class for errors
   ├─ ArithmeticError			   Base class for arithmetic errors
   │  ├─ FloatingPointError		   Floating point operation failed
   │  ├─ OverflowError			   Result too large
   │  └─ ZeroDivisionError		   Argument of division or modulo is 0
   ├─ AssertionError			   Assert statement failed
   ├─ AttributeError			   Attribute reference or assignment failed
   ├─ BufferError				   Buffer operation failed
   ├─ EOFError					   input() hit end-of-file without reading data
   ├─ ExceptionGroup			   Group of exceptions raised together
   ├─ ImportError				   Import statement failed
   │  └─ ModuleNotFoundError	   Module not able to be found
   ├─ LookupError				   Base class for lookup errors
   │  └─ IndexError				   Index not found in sequence
   │  └─ KeyError				   Key not found in dictionary
   ├─ MemoryError				   Operation ran out of memory
   ├─ NameError					   Local or global name not found
   │  └─ UnboundLocalError		   Local variable value not asssigned
   ├─ OSError					   System related error
   │  ├─ BlockingIOError		   Non-blocking operation will block
   │  ├─ ChildProcessError		   Operation on child process failed
   │  ├─ ConnectionError		   Base class for connection errors
   │  │  ├─ BrokenPipeError		   Write to closed pipe or socket
   │  │  ├─ ConnectionAbortedError Connection aborted
   │  │  ├─ ConnectionRefusedError Connection denied by server
   │  │  └─ ConnectionResetError   Connection reset mid-operation
   │  ├─ FileExistsError		   Trying to create a file that already exists
   │  ├─ FileNotFoundError		   File or directory not found
   │  ├─ InterruptedError		   System call interrupted by signal
   │  ├─ IsADirectoryError		   File operation requested on a directory
   │  ├─ NotADirectoryError		   Directory operation requested on a non-directory
   │  ├─ PermissionError		   Operation has insuffient access rights
   │  ├─ ProcessLookupError		   Operation on process that no longer exists
   │  └─ TimeoutError			   Operation timed out
   ├─ ReferenceError			   Weak reference used on garbage collected object
   ├─ RuntimeError				   Error detected that doesn't fit other categories
   │  ├─ NotImplementedError	   Operation not yet implemented
   │  └─ RecursionError			   Maximum recursion depth exceeded
   ├─ StopAsyncIteration		   Iterator __anext__() raises to stop iteration
   ├─ StopIteration				   Iterator next() raises when no more values
   ├─ SyntaxError				   Python syntax error
   │  └─ IndentationError		   Base class for indentation errors
   │	 └─ TabError			   Inconsistent tabs or spaces
   ├─ SystemError				   Recoverable Python interpreter error
   ├─ TypeError					   Operation applied to wrong type object
   ├─ ValueError				   Operation on right type but wrong value
   │  └─ UnicodeError			   Unicode encoding/decoding error
   │	 ├─ UnicodeDecodeError	   Unicode decoding error
   │	 ├─ UnicodeEncodeError	   Unicode encoding error
   │	 └─ UnicodeTranslateError  Unicode translation error
   └─ Warning					   Base class for warnings
	  ├─ BytesWarning			   Warnings about bytes and bytesarrays
	  ├─ DeprecationWarning		   Warnings about deprecated features
	  ├─ EncodingWarning		   Warning about encoding problem
	  ├─ FutureWarning			   Warnings about future deprecations for end users
	  ├─ ImportWarning			   Possible error in module imports
	  ├─ PendingDeprecationWarning Warnings about pending feature deprecations
	  ├─ ResourceWarning		   Warning about resource use
	  ├─ RuntimeWarning			   Warning about dubious runtime behavior
	  ├─ SyntaxWarning			   Warning about dubious syntax
	  ├─ UnicodeWarning			   Warnings related to Unicode
	  └─ UserWarning			   Warnings generated by user code
$ python [-bBdEhiIOqsSuvVWx?] [-c command | -m module-name | script | - ] [args]
$ python --version
Python 3.10.12
$ python --help[-all] # help-all [3.11+]
# Execute code from command line
$ python -c 'print("Hello, world!")'
# Execute __main__.py in directory
$ python <directory>
# Execute module as __main__
$ python -m timeit -s 'setup here' 'benchmarked code here'
# Optimise execution
$ python -O script.py

# Hide warnings
PYTHONWARNINGS="ignore"
# OR
$ python -W ignore foo.py
# OR
import warnings
warnings.filterwarnings("ignore", category=DeprecationWarning)
# module of executed script is assigned __name__ '__main__'
# so to run main() only if module is executed as script
if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()
PYTHONHOME
Change location of standard Python libraries
PYTHONPATH
Augment default search path for module files
PYTHONSTARTUP
Module to execute before entering interactive prompt
PYTHONOPTIMIZE
Optimise execution (-O)
PYTHONWARNINGS
Set warning level [default/error/always/module/once/ignore] (-W)
PYTHONPROFILEIMPORTTIME
Show module import times (-X)

Before __main__ module is executed Python automatically imports:

  • sitecustomize.py in the system site-packages directory
  • usercustomize.py in the user site-packages directory
# Get user site packages directory
$ python -m site --user-site

# Bypass sitecustomize.py/usercustomize.py hooks
$ python -S script.py