python re.compile match percent sign %

Question

I want to create a simple string match for a % sign in Python.
Here is my code

import re  
a = "5%"  
p = re.compile(r'%')  
p.match(a)  

p.match(a) returns None.

Answer 1

match matches the regexp if it occurs at the beginning of the search string. You want p.search(a).