Last answered:

06 Nov 2024

Posted on:

09 Aug 2024

0

backslash before comma in the Sep argument

Why we add backslash before comma in the Sep argument and what is meant by raw string.

2 answers ( 0 marked as helpful)
Instructor
Posted on:

14 Aug 2024

0
Hi Asmaa!
Thanks for reaching out.

In Python, a backslash (\) before characters like a comma in the sep argument of
 pandas.read_csv()
is used to escape special characters.
A raw string in Python, denoted by prefixing the string with an r, tells Python to treat the backslash (\) as a literal character and not as an escape character. For example,
 r"\n"
will be treated as the characters \ and n, not as a newline character. Raw strings are useful for paths and regular expressions where backslashes frequently appear.

Hope this helps.
Best,
Tsvetelin
Posted on:

06 Nov 2024

0
Hello, I have a doubt about why the backslash \ is used in sep = '\,'.
The backslasch is supposed to be an escape character in Python to indicate that the following character is not to be interpreted as the character itself, but as a special command.
In my case sep = ',' works correctly, I suppose that in cases where the separator is a tabulation  sep = '\t' would be necessary
I would like to know if it is essential to put it on any separator.
Greetings and thanks in advance

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