string — Common String Operations

Before Python 2.0, the string module accommodated many string-manipulation functions. Today, most of those functions are methods of the str object itself (like string.join becoming ''.join()).

However, the string module remains highly useful for its Constants (which save you from typing out abcdefg...) and the Template class.

import string

String Constants

When you need a list of letters or digits (e.g., for generating passwords or random tokens), never type them manually. Use these constants.

import string
import random

print(string.ascii_lowercase) # 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz'
print(string.digits)          # '0123456789'
print(string.punctuation)     # '!"#$%&\'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\\]^_`{|}~'

# Generate a fast random 8-character password
chars = string.ascii_letters + string.digits
pwd = ''.join(random.choice(chars) for _ in range(8))
print(pwd)

Template Strings

Template strings provide simpler string substitutions as described in PEP 292. They are sometimes preferred by users looking for a simpler formatting syntax than %-formatting or .format()/f-strings, especially for internationalization (i18n) where complex f-string syntax might confuse translators.

from string import Template

s = Template('$who likes $what')
result = s.substitute(who='Tim', what='kung pao')

print(result) # 'Tim likes kung pao'

API Reference

Constants

Classes