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Python print() Function

The print() function prints the specified message to the screen or the text file. The message can be a string, or any other object (such as number, list, tuple etc.)

Syntax​

print(*objects, sep, end, file, flush)

Python print() function parameters:

ParameterConditionDescription
*objectsOptionalZero or more objects to print.
sepOptionalA string to print between each object. Default is a single space ' '
endOptionalA string to print at the end. Default is a newline '\n'.
fileOptionalAn object with a write(string) method. Default is sys.stdout (screen)
flushOptionalIf True, output buffer is forcibly flushed
note

sep, end, file and flush must be specified as keyword arguments.

For example, sep = '-' or end = ' '.

This because you can have zero or more objects, e.g. print(object1, object2, ..., sep='-', end=' ').

note

If no values are specified, print() function will just print the default end parameter.

Python print() function returns None (i.e. it does not return any value).

Examples​

Example 1: Basic Example with String​

Let's print the string 'Hello World!' on screen

print('Hello World!') # Output: Hello World!

output

Hello World!

Example 2: Printing Multiple Objects​

You can print as many values as you like, just separate them with a comma ,.

print('One','Two','Three','Four','Five') # Output: One Two Three Four Five

output

One Two Three Four Five

Example 3: Printing with Custom Separator​

When you print multiple values, each value is separated by default with a space ' '.

By specifying sep parameter, you can separate each value by something different from a space.

For example, let's separate each value with '-'

print('One','Two','Three', sep='-') # Output: One-Two-Three

output

One-Two-Three

You can choose any string you want as separator.

print('One','Two','Three', sep=' @WoW# ') # Output: One @WoW# Two @WoW# Three

output

One @WoW# Two @WoW# Three

Example 4: Ending with a Custom String​

The print() function includes a newline \n at the end by default.

For example, to print the values without a trailing newline, specify end parameter.

print('First line.', end=' ')   # print WITHOUT trailing newline
print('Next line')              # print as usual with trailing newline

output

First line. Next line

Example 5: Printing Objects​

You can print any object other than string such as number, list, tuple, etc. The object is converted into a string before written to the screen.

For example, you can print numbers:

# Print a list
print(1, 2, 3, 4, 5) # Output: 1 2 3 4 5

output

1 2 3 4 5

For example, you can print lists:

print([1, 2, 'red'])    # Output: [1, 2, 'red']

output

[1, 2, 'red']

For example, you can print tuples:

print((1, 2, 'red'))    # Output: (1, 2, 'red')

output

(1, 2, 'red')

Example 6: Printing to a File​

In Python, you can print objects to the file by specifying the file parameter.

For example,

sourceFile = open('myFile.txt', 'w')
print('Write this in the file!', file = sourceFile)
sourceFile.close()

or, the same example using the with statement:

with open('myfile.txt', 'w') as sourceFile:
    print('Write this in the file!!', file=sourceFile)

Example 7: Printing a Custom Object​

To print custom objects in Python, you can override the __str__() method in your class: this method returns a string that represents the object.

When you print an object, Python automatically calls the __str__() method to determine what to display.

For example, let's print an instance of class Person:

class Person:
    def __init__(self, name, age):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age

    def __str__(self):
        return f"Person(name={self.name}, age={self.age})"


p = Person("Tom",  25)
print(p)

output

Person(name=Tom, age=25)

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