How do I get a substring of a string in Python?

Question

Is there a way to substring a string in Python, to get a new string from the third character to the end of the string?

Maybe like myString[2:end]?

If leaving the second part means 'till the end', and if you leave the first part, does it start from the start?

Answer 1

>>> x = "Hello World!" >>> x[2:] 'llo World!' >>> x[:2] 'He' >>> x[:-2] 'Hello Worl' >>> x[-2:] 'd!' >>> x[2:-2] 'llo Worl' 

Python calls this concept "slicing" and it works on more than just strings. Take a look here for a comprehensive introduction.

Answer 2

Just for completeness as nobody else has mentioned it. The third parameter to an array slice is a step. So reversing a string is as simple as:

some_string[::-1] 

Or selecting alternate characters would be:

"H-e-l-l-o- -W-o-r-l-d"[::2] # outputs "Hello World" 

The ability to step forwards and backwards through the string maintains consistency with being able to array slice from the start or end.