Python string comparison not matching a line read from a file

Question

I have got a text file with keywords in each line like so:

foo
foo1
^^^^^^^^^
foo5
foo7

^^^^^^^^^ is a flag set to break the for loop once reached:

keywords = []
    with open("keywords.txt") as f:
        for line in f:
            if line.startswith(request.GET.get('search', '')):
                keywords.append(line.lower())
            if line == "^^^^^^^^^":
                break

In above code, the second condition is never met (**if line == "^^^^^^^^^":**).

I also tried is instead of == (but did not expect it to work, and it didn't).

When I tried line.startswith("^^^^^^"):, the condition is met, and loop is ended. I'm wondering why == doesn't work in the above case.

Looking for some direction and explanation.

Did you try with newline '\n' at the end? Use `repr(line)` to see the actual contents of the line. — Ashwini Chaudhary, Aug 08 '17 at 01:35
Thanks for the tip @AshwiniChaudhary, that will come in handy next time I face similar issue. I added \n at the end of the string and the condition passed. — almost a beginner, Aug 08 '17 at 01:40

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 08 '17 at 01:36

5

There probably is a line break or other whitespace at the end of the line, so == won't work, unless you trim it first:

if line.strip() == "^^^^^^^^^":

answered Aug 08 '17 at 01:36

Óscar López

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This did the trick, thanks :) – almost a beginner Aug 08 '17 at 01:42

Python string comparison not matching a line read from a file

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