len() Function in Python

The len() function in Python is used to determine the length (i.e., the number of characters) of a string. It can also be used with other data types like lists, tuples, dictionaries, and more, but when applied to strings, it counts the total number of characters in the string.

Syntax:

len(string)

• string: The string whose length you want to find.

Example:

# Example 1: Finding the length of a string
my_string = "Hello, Python!"
length = len(my_string)
print(length)  # Output: 13

In the example above:

• The string "Hello, Python!" has 13 characters, including spaces and punctuation.
• The len() function returns 13 because it counts every character.

Example with an empty string:

# Example 2: Length of an empty string
empty_string = ""
print(len(empty_string))  # Output: 0

Here, the string is empty, so len() returns 0.

Example with spaces:

# Example 3: String with spaces
string_with_spaces = "   "
print(len(string_with_spaces))  # Output: 3

In this example, there are three spaces in the string, and len() counts each space, returning 3.

Key Points:

• Whitespace characters like spaces, tabs, and newlines are also counted by the len() function.
• The function works with any iterable (not just strings), such as lists, tuples, and dictionaries.