[Tutor] PyCharm and triple quotes - Was: Tutor Digest, Vol 232, Issue 12

[dn]

On 21/06/2023 00.19, Alan Gauld via Tutor wrote:
> On 20/06/2023 07:53, HARSH MOHAN wrote:

...

>> website because pycharm is for building high level projects

Yes, use the Python-REPL, working line-by-line, for experimenting, 
testing your own knowledge, and similar.

Yes, could use a light-weight text-editor, eg xed, nano, notepad; to 
dash-off a short code-snippet (and run from command-line) - rather than 
waiting for a full-fat IDE to load.

However, both of those are available within PyCharm, if it is already 
running. Don't most Python.devs have their IDE running all-the-time?


>> and for your code use three inverted codes as:* print( """ write your thing
>> here """)*
> 
> Triple quotes don't normally offer any advantage for short strings
> and can lead to obscure bugs. Is there some extra advantage if
> using PyCharm?

None!

Like most 'intelligent' editors, as soon as one opens a string*, PyCharm 
will auto-magically enter the closing-delimiter. Anything typed will 
become part of the string...

* apostrophe/single-quotation mark, double quotes/quotation mark, or 
either of the triple-quotes

Personally, reserve triple-quotes for docstrings (my PyCharm flags any 
function (etc) def-ined without a docstring!), unless have some long, 
multi-line string to be reproduced verbatim. Quotation-marks are used 
for strings, on the grounds that am more likely to encounter a 
possessive (and thus apostrophe + s) within some narrative, than to need 
double-quotes) - at which point can either swap* delimiters or use an 
(ugly) escape.

* PyCharm does help with those operations:
- if highlight a string and then enter string-delimiter of some kind, it 
will surround the text and turn it into a string-literal
- similarly, if highlight an existing string (including both 
quotation-marks) and type an alternate string-delimiter, PyCharm will 
make an intelligent change.


Disclaimer: JetBrains sponsor our PUG by donating a monthly door-prize 
of a 12-month Professional license. I am currently using PyCharm - 
however, switch between IDEs when working for a period of time, with a 
team standardised on some other tool...

YMMV!

-- 
Regards,
=dn