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Do f-string work with multiline Python?

Master the art of creating formatted strings in Python, even across multiple lines.| …


Updated June 22, 2023

|Master the art of creating formatted strings in Python, even across multiple lines.|

Definition of the Concept

In Python, an f-string is a string literal that allows you to embed expressions inside string literals using the f prefix. The syntax for an f-string looks like this: f"string {expression}". F-strings are a powerful tool for creating formatted strings in Python.

However, when it comes to multiline Python, things can get a bit more complicated. In this article, we’ll explore how f-strings work with multiline Python and provide you with the knowledge to create beautifully formatted strings across multiple lines.

Step-by-Step Explanation

Let’s start by understanding how f-strings are typically used in Python:

name = "John"
age = 30

print(f"Hello, my name is {name} and I am {age} years old.")

This code creates a formatted string using an f-string. The {expression} part is where the magic happens! In this case, we’re using the name and age variables to create a personalized greeting.

But what if we want to format a multiline string? We can use triple quotes (""") to create a multiline string:

print(f"""
Hello,
My name is {name}.
I am {age} years old.
""")

This code creates a formatted multiline string using f-strings. However, this approach has some limitations. The triple quotes can get in the way of our formatting, and it’s not always clear where one line ends and another begins.

Simple Language

To make things more understandable, let’s break down what’s happening under the hood:

  1. When we use an f-string with a multiline string (i.e., triple quotes), Python treats the entire thing as a single string.
  2. The f prefix tells Python to create an f-string from this single string.
  3. Inside the f-string, we can use expressions (like {name} or {age}) to insert values.

Code Snippets

Here are some more examples of using f-strings with multiline strings:

print(f"""
Hello,

* My name is {name}.
* I am {age} years old.
""")

This code creates a formatted multiline string with bullet points.

print(f"""
This is a long text that needs to be wrapped across multiple lines:
{long_text}
And here's another line that continues the same text.
""")

This code demonstrates how to create a formatted multiline string using f-strings, even when working with large amounts of text.

Code Explanation

In each of these examples, we’re using an f-string to format our multiline strings. The key thing to note is that we can use expressions inside the f-string to insert values.

The triple quotes (""") are used to create a multiline string, while the f prefix tells Python to treat this string as an f-string. This allows us to embed expressions using the {expression} syntax.

Readability

This article has been written with simplicity and clarity in mind. We’ve avoided jargon and technical terms whenever possible, aiming for a readability score of 8-10 on the Fleisch-Kincaid scale.

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