How to Replace a Question Mark in Python

In Python, one of the most powerful and widely used programming languages, text manipulation is a frequent necessity. One of the very common tasks is replacing a character in a string. This tutorial will guide you through the process of replacing a question mark in a string using Python.

Step 1: Define Your String

Firstly, you will need to identify the string in which you need to replace a question mark. You can either retrieve it from a file or define it directly in your code. For this tutorial, we will define it directly.

Step 2: Use the replace() Method

Python’s str.replace() method is quite powerful, it allows us to replace a specific character or a substring with another character or substring. In this case, we’re going to use it to replace every question mark ‘?’, with an exclamation mark ‘!’.

Step 3: Print the New String

Finally, print out the new string and verify the result.

The output will be:

Hello, how are you doing! I hope you're well!

As visible above, every question mark was replaced with an exclamation mark.

Step 4: Apply the Code to a File

When your string is stored in a file, you’ll have to open the file first, read the content while replacing the question mark, and write the new content back into the file. Check out Python’s Official Documentation on how to read and write to a file.

Here Is the Full Code:

Conclusion

As shown in this guide, Python’s replace() function is a powerful tool that makes it simple to replace characters in strings. It only takes a few steps, and it can be even used when you’re working with strings retrieved from files.

With this knowledge, you should be easily able to replace question marks or any characters in your strings.