Python Pocket Reference, 3rd Edition

Statements and Syntax

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Statements and Syntax

This section describes the rules for syntax and variable

names.

Syntax Rules

Here are the general rules for writing Python programs.

Control flow

Statements execute one after another, unless control-flow

statements are used (

if, while, for, raise, calls, etc.).

Blocks

A block is delimited by indenting all of its statements by

the same amount, with spaces or tabs. A tab counts for

enough spaces to move the column to a multiple of 8.

Blocks can appear on the same line as a statement header

if they are simple statements.

Statements

A statement ends at the end of a line, but can continue

over multiple lines if a physical line ends with a

\,an

unclosed

(), [],or{} pair, or an unclosed, triple-quoted

string. Multiple simple statements can appear on a line if

they are separated with a semicolon (

;).

Comments

Comments start with a

# (not in a string constant) and

span to the end of the line.

hex(X), oct(X),

str(X)

Integer types Hexadecimal, octal,

decimal strings

ord(C), chr(I) Character, integer code Integer code, character

a

In Version 2.2, converter functions (e.g., int, float, str) are also available as class constructors,

and can be subclassed.

Table 11. String/object converters (continued)

Converter Converts from Converts to