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Why does >>> 'c\\\h' produces 'c\\\\h' via the python CLI

But >>> print 'c\\\h' produces c\\h

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    >>> 'c\\\h' doesn't produce c\\\\h. It produces 'c\\\\h'. Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 14:03
  • @BhargavRao No way, this question is more general; the title reflects that. Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 14:15
  • @interjay doesn't answer the question though .. it still produces 4 backslashes Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 14:41
  • It was a correction to your question, not an answer. Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 15:51

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Python interpreter running in REPL mode prints representation (repr builtin) of result of last statement (it it exists and not a None):

>>> 5 + 6 11

For str objects representation is a string literal in a same form it is written in your code (except for the quotes that may differ), so it includes escape sequences:

>>> '\n\t1' '\n\t1' >>> print repr('\n\t1') '\n\t1'

print statement (or function) on the other hand prints pretty string-conversion (str builtin) of an element, which makes all escape sequences being converted to actual characters:

>>> print '\n\t1' <---- newline 1 <---- tab + 1
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what i got from your explanation is that..repr() displays the string just as it is, but print() function formats it... does't explain the extra/deducted backslashes using the examples i provided though
@Emmanuel: format is incorrect term here. Like I said, it replaces escape sequences. I.e. '\n' -> newline. For backslashes: '\\' -> single backslash. That is why backslashes doubled in repr (see string literal link in my post)

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