6. Strip whitespace

strip() removes characters from both ends of a string. Its signature is:

  • chars — the characters to remove from each end. Default: None, which means any whitespace (spaces, tabs and newlines).

chars is a set of characters, not a substring: strip("ab") removes any a or b at the ends, in any order. Characters in the middle are never removed.

Two variants remove from one side only, and accept the same chars parameter:

All three return a new string; the original is unchanged.

Coming from JavaScript? strip() is .trim(). With an argument it removes any of those characters from both ends, not a whole substring.

#01

Remove spaces from both ends

With no arguments, strip() removes whitespace from the beginning and the end of a string.

Print " Python " with strip().

Print exactly:

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#02

Keep the middle untouched

strip() only removes characters at the two ends. A space between other characters stays where it is.

Print " a b " with strip().

Print exactly:

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#03

Choose the characters to remove

The argument of strip() is the set of characters to remove from each end.

Print "...hello..." with the dots removed, passing "." as the argument.

Print exactly:

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#04

Remove from the left only

lstrip() removes whitespace from the left end only.

Print " left" with lstrip(), followed by "!", so you can see what was removed.

Print exactly:

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#05

Remove from the right only

rstrip() removes whitespace from the right end only.

Print one line made of "(", "right " with rstrip() applied, and ")", in that order, so the output shows exactly where the string ends.

Print exactly:

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