Why is there an extra space in between a variable and punctuation in a string? Python

Question

There is an extra space in the output of a string. This is the section of the code where it happens. It happens in the string of the function, nameConfirmation().

def chooseName():
    name = ""
    name = raw_input("Let's begin with your name. What is it? ")

    return name

def nameConfirmation():
    name = chooseName()
    print ("Right... So your name is", name,".")

This is the output it gives.

Right... So your name is Raven .

How do I get rid of the space in between the name and the punctuation?

Set the `sep` parameter of the `print()` function to `''` but then you have to add a space after "is" — Michael Butscher, Dec 07 '17 at 02:41

Ender Look · Answer 1 · 2017-12-07T03:12:53.427

If you use:

print ("Right... So your name is", name,".")

You will notice that the output is:

Right... So your name is Raven .

Look at is and name (Raven). You can note in the output an space (is Raven), that is because print() have a default argument called sep an by default it's print("Right... So your name is", name,".", sep = ' '). That argument is an string that it's added at the end of each piece of string concatenated with a coma , in the print function.
So if you do print('A','B') it will be A B, because when you concatenate A and B, print will add ' ' (and space) as glue.
You can configure it: print('A','B', sep='glue') would print AglueB!

To solve your problem you can do two options.

Change sep = '' and add an space after is: print ("Right... So your name is ", name,".", sep='')
Or, concatenate using + the last two strings: print ("Right... So your name is", name + ".")

Also there are a lot of another ways like: (I ordered them by worst to best in my subjetive opinion...)

print("Right... So your name is %s." % name).
print("Right... So your name is {}.".format(name)).
print(f"Right... So your name is {name}.")

Link with documentation:

Python Official Documentation
Python 3 Course (Use of sep and ,, +, %s, .format(), f-string and use of string class)
PyFormat (Basic and advanced use of %s, %d, .format(), value conversion, datetime, ).

P.S: This isn't part of the answer, it's just a note.

print (something) don't need the space --> print(something).
Futhemorer sep = ' ' there is also called end = '\n' that determine the end of a print (\n = new line).

P.S 2: Thanks Ouss for the idea of add some documentations links. I've just learnt that you can do print(%(key)s % mydict)!

I like your answer. Very informative and complete. Please consider adding some links to references/tutorials on strings manipulation and formatting in python3 at the end of the answer! — Ouss, Dec 07 '17 at 03:00

Mervyn Lee · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-07T02:51:27.793

5

You can append string with +.

print ("Right... So your name is", name + ".")

Output:

Right... So your name is Raven.

edited Dec 07 '17 at 02:51

answered Dec 07 '17 at 02:43

Mervyn Lee

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With raw_input, would it be necessary to use str(name) in order to concatenate? I'm not on a computer or I'd check. – Joseph Ryle Dec 07 '17 at 02:51
1

@JosephRyle I verified with python2.7 that `str()` is not needed. – Mervyn Lee Dec 07 '17 at 02:56
Thank you. This worked perfectly. I just haven't learned that in my class yet. – Destiny Dec 07 '17 at 02:58
@Destiny It is also a useful trick that can be applied in C++. Welcome! – Mervyn Lee Dec 07 '17 at 02:59

Ouss · Answer 3 · 2022-07-18T15:40:09.727

Use the string variable substitution with %s as in:

def nameConfirmation():
    name = chooseName()
    print ("Right... So your name is %s." % name)

or use the .format() function that is a built-in method for str in:

def nameConfirmation():
    name = chooseName()
    output = "Right... So your name is {}.".format(name)
    print(output)

or you could use the shorter f"" format as in:

def nameConfirmation():
    name = chooseName()
    print(f"Right... So your name is {name}.")

For more on string manipulation and formatting in Python3, Check the following:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/an-introduction-to-string-functions-in-python-3 https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/an-introduction-to-working-with-strings-in-python-3 https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-string-formatters-in-python-3

you can just use f-strings rather than substitution, it takes less space and it's easier to read. `f"Right... So your name is {name}."` — Axeltherabbit, Jul 18 '22 at 09:04

neophlegm · Answer 4 · 2017-12-07T02:47:14.307

1

The comma indicates a continuation on the same line with a space in between (you'll notice there's a space between "is" and "Raven", even though neither string has one in there). If you want to remove the spaces, the usual way to concatenate strings is with a plus

Edit: Plus, not ampersand... stupid me

edited Dec 07 '17 at 02:47

answered Dec 07 '17 at 02:42

neophlegm

375
1
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Maybe you are mixing up languages, an ampersand won't work here in Python – Michael Butscher Dec 07 '17 at 02:44

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 07 '17 at 02:44

1

Each argument passed through the print command is automatically separated by a space. I see you're in python 2, and I use python 3, so I'm not sure if this solution will work, but you can try doing this:

print ("Right... So your name is ", name,".",sep='')

This basically (assuming it works in python 2 as well) changes the separation between arguments to no space instead of 1 space.

answered Dec 07 '17 at 02:44

Jacob Rodal

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If `print` function is enabled, the `sep` parameter already works in 2.6 – Michael Butscher Dec 07 '17 at 02:47

CPP_is_no_STANDARD · Answer 6 · 2022-10-10T09:00:49.243

The reason why does the code produces a extra space is because the default sep looks like this:

sep = ' '

And the seperator seperates the values/input because by default sep contains a space. So that's why even though you did not put a blank space it still does the job for you.

Just in case you don't know what is sep, it is a short form for separator.

There are 3 easy solutions to solve this problem:

\b escape sequence.
'+' string concatanation
sep=''

1st Solution (\b escape sequence):

print ("Right... So your name is", name,"\b.")

2nd Solution ('+' string concatanation):

print ("Right... So your name is", name + ".")

3rd Solution (sep=''):

print ("Right... So your name is ", name,".",sep='')

All of them produces same output:

Right... So your name is Raven.

Why is there an extra space in between a variable and punctuation in a string? Python

6 Answers6