Python - Slicing Strings

Slicing

The slice syntax can be utilized to obtain a selection of characters within a range.

To obtain a specific portion of a string, indicate the beginning index and the ending index separated by a colon using the slice notation.

Example

Retrieve the characters starting from index 3 up to but not including index 7:

x = "Python slicing"

print(x[3:7])

Note: The first character has index 0.

Slice From the Start

If you don't specify the starting index, the range will start from the first character:

Example

Retrieve the first 5 characters of the string, excluding the character at the 6th position:

x = "Python slicing"

print(x[:6])

Slice To the End

If you exclude the end index when defining a range, it will automatically include all the elements until the end:

Example

Retrieve all the characters from the 3rd position to the end of the string:

x = "Python slicing"

print(x[3:])

Negative Indexing

To begin the slice from the end of the string, utilize negative indexes:

Example

Get the characters:

From: "l" in "slicing" (position -6)

To, but not included: "n" in "slicing" (position -2):

x = "Python slicing"

print(x[-6:-2])