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Python

Posted by Michael Melton
Michael Melton
1,475 Points

Why is ' vs. " being used around opensesame?

Why is ' vs. " being used around opensesame?

Michael Melton
Michael Melton
1,475 Points

Python Basics > While Loops ~2:44-9:04

1 Answer

Jeff Muday
MOD
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,732 Points
Jeff Muday
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,732 Points

Unlike some other languages, in Python, one can enclose strings with either the single quote or the double-quote character -- there's a functional equivalency. Whether you choose to use single-quote or double-quote delimitation is a stylistic choice of the programmer.

The nice thing is that a double-quote delimited string can contain single-quote punctuation and single-quote delimited strings can contain double-quote characters.

Valid strings:

x = "He said, I can't do that"
y = 'She said, "Hi!"'

Invalid strings:

x = 'He said, I can't do that'
y = "She said, "Hi!""

But you can use the backward-slash, called an escape like below:

x =  'He said, I can\'t do that'
y = "She said, \"Hi\""

I hope this helps answer your question. Good luck with your Python journey!