Why Does Python Show Double Backslashes in String Representations?

Representation of Strings with Backslashes

When defining strings in Python that contain backslashes, it may seem like the backslashes appear twice. This observation arises from the representation created by the __repr__() method.

my_string = "why\does\it\happen?"
my_string

Output:

'why\does\it\happen?'

The actual string, however, contains only single backslashes. To verify this, print the string:

print(my_string)

Output:

why\does\it\happen?

Strings with backslashes have three characters, not four:

'a\b'
len('a\b')

Output:

'a\b'
3

The standard representation of a string can be obtained using the repr() built-in function:

print(repr(my_string))

Output:

'why\does\it\happen?'

Python represents backslashes with because backslash is an escape character. For example, n signifies a newline and t denotes a tab.

This representation protects against potential confusion:

print("this\text\is\not\what\it\seems")

Output:

this    ext\is
ot\what\it\seems

To explicitly include the backslash character itself, escape it with another backslash:

print("this\text\is\what\you\need")

Output:

this\text\is\what\you\need

In summary, the representation of strings with backslashes includes escaped backslashes for safety reasons. The actual strings, however, contain only single backslashes.

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