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String Comparison |
In Python, string comparison functions indicate whether the string meets a particular condition. Each of these functions returns True if the condition is matched, or False if the condition is not matched.
The following table lists the string comparison functions and what they do:
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| isalnum() | Return True if all of the characters in the string are alphanumeric (letters or numbers). Note that the space character is not alphanumeric. |
| isalpha() | Return True if the string consists of letters. |
| isdigit() | Return True if the string consists of digits. |
| islower() | Return True if the string consists of non-capitalized letters. |
| isspace() | Return True if the string consists of whitespace characters (spaces or tabs). |
| istitle() | Return True if the string consists of words in title format (for example, "This Is A Title"). |
| isupper() | Return True if the string consists of capitalized letters. |
| startswith(prefix) | Return True if the string starts with the substring prefix. |
| endswith(suffix) | Return True if the string ends with the substring suffix. |
Because string comparison functions return True or False, they are ideal for use in conditional statements:
patientid = "xyz123"
if not patientid.isalnum():
print "Invalid patient ID - must be a combination of letters and digits"
doctorname = "Smith"
if not doctorname.isalpha():
print "Invalid doctor name - must be all letters"
patientid = "123456"
if not patientid.isdigit():
print "Invalid patient ID - must be all digits"
doctorname = "smith"
if doctorname.islower():
print "Doctor name is all lower case letters"
patientid = " "
if patientid.isspace():
print "Patient id contains nothing but spaces and tabs"
doctorname = "Doctor Smith"
if doctorname.istitle():
print "Doctor name is in title format"
doctorname = "SMITH"
if doctorname.isupper():
print "Doctor name is all upper case letters"
location = "XYZ Hospital and Treatment Center"
if location.startswith("XYZ"):
print "The location starts with 'XYZ'"
location = "Hospital and Treatment Center XYZ"
if location.endswith("XYZ"):
print "The location ends with 'XYZ'"
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