How to Get Length of String in Python

In this article, we’ll delve into the world of Python strings and explore how to get their length. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced programmer, this guide will walk you through the process …

Updated June 18, 2023

Definition of the Concept

In Python, a string is a sequence of characters enclosed in quotes (either single ‘…’ or double “…” ). The length of a string refers to the number of characters it contains. Think of it as the number of items on your grocery list!

Step-by-Step Explanation

Getting the length of a string in Python is a straightforward process that involves using the built-in len() function.

Step 1: Importing the `len()` Function

While not strictly necessary, we’ll start by importing the len() function from the builtins module to make it more accessible. This step can be skipped if you’re using Python 3.x, as len() is already available in the global namespace.

from builtins import len

Step 2: Defining a String

Next, we’ll define a string variable containing some characters. In this example, let’s use the string “Hello, World!” .

my_string = "Hello, World!"

Step 3: Using the `len()` Function

Now that we have our string defined, we can use the len() function to get its length.

string_length = len(my_string)
print(string_length)  # Output: 13

That’s it! The len() function takes the string variable as an argument and returns its length.

Code Snippets

Here are a few more code snippets demonstrating the use of the len() function with strings:

# Using len() with a single-character string
single_char_string = "a"
print(len(single_char_string))  # Output: 1

# Using len() with an empty string
empty_string = ""
print(len(empty_string))  # Output: 0

Code Explanation

In each of the code snippets above, we’re using the len() function to get the length of a string. The len() function takes no arguments and returns the number of characters in the string.

In the first snippet, we define a single-character string and use len() to print its length (1).
In the second snippet, we define an empty string using double quotes (""), and use len() to print its length (0).

Additional Tips

Here are some additional tips for working with strings in Python:

Use triple quotes ('''...''' or """...""") to define multi-line strings.
To get the first character of a string, use indexing (my_string[0]).
To split a string into multiple parts, use the split() method.

I hope this article has been informative and helpful in learning how to get the length of a string in Python!