How to Count the Number of Characters in a Line in Python

When working on Python coding projects, it can be beneficial to determine the number of characters present in a line of code.

This comes in handy when ensuring that your code adheres to best practices, including code readability and optimal performance. Today, we’ll take a walk through the process of counting the number of characters in a line of Python code.

Step 1: Write out Your Python Code

First, get your Python environment established. Write out your line of code, or pull it from an existing project. For instance, consider the following line of code:

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my_string = "Hello World!"

In this case, my_string is a variable that contains the string “Hello World!”.

Step 2: The len() Function

To count the number of characters in a line of Python and most coding languages, you’d typically use the built-in function of most programming languages called the len() function. In Python, this would look like:

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len(my_string)

The len() function is part of Python’s standard library, which means you can utilize it without needing to import it from a library first.

Step 3: Display Output

You would then want to display or store the output, which is the count of characters in your Python line. You can use the print function in Python to achieve this, see below:

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print(len(my_string))

The output of your Python code can be displayed in a console or other display output you have configured with your Python environment.

Output:

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12

Step 4: Place the Full Code in Your Program

Next, use this piece of code to count characters at any point during your Python coding. Place it in your program where you want the characters in a line counted.

Full code:

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my_string = "Hello World!"
print(len(my_string))

This piece of code first assigns the string “Hello World!” to the variable my_string, then prints the length of my_string, which gives out the total number of characters in that string. The output in this case is “12”.

Conclusion:

Counting the number of characters in a line in Python is made simple through the use of Python’s built-in len() function. By calling the len() function and passing in your line of code or string as an argument, you can effectively count the number of characters in a single line of Python.