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Strip Characters from String

Remove specific characters from the beginning and end of a string using the standard library.

9 snippets available in this sub-category.

Simple

Strip whitespace from ends

string strip whitespace trim text

Remove whitespace from string ends

def strip_whitespace(text):
    """Strip whitespace from beginning and end of string."""
    return text.strip()


text = "  Hello World  "
result = strip_whitespace(text)
print(result)  # "Hello World"

Notes

  • Uses str.strip() method
  • Removes leading and trailing spaces
  • Returns cleaned string
  • Common text cleaning operation

Strip specific characters

string strip characters custom text

Remove specific characters from string ends

def strip_chars(text, chars):
    """Strip specific characters from string ends."""
    return text.strip(chars)


text = "***Hello World***"
result = strip_chars(text, "*")
print(result)  # "Hello World"

Notes

  • Uses str.strip() with character set
  • Removes specified characters
  • Handles multiple characters
  • Useful for cleaning data

Complex

Strip from left only

string strip left lstrip text

Remove characters from left side only

def strip_left(text, chars=None):
    """Strip characters from left side only."""
    if chars is None:
        return text.lstrip()
    return text.lstrip(chars)


text = "***Hello World***"
result = strip_left(text, "*")
print(result)  # "Hello World***"

Notes

  • Uses str.lstrip() method
  • Preserves right side
  • Optional character set
  • Useful for prefix removal

Strip from right only

string strip right rstrip text

Remove characters from right side only

def strip_right(text, chars=None):
    """Strip characters from right side only."""
    if chars is None:
        return text.rstrip()
    return text.rstrip(chars)


text = "***Hello World***"
result = strip_right(text, "*")
print(result)  # "***Hello World"

Notes

  • Uses str.rstrip() method
  • Preserves left side
  • Optional character set
  • Useful for suffix removal

Strip multiple character sets

string strip multiple sets characters text

Remove multiple character sets from string ends

def strip_multiple(text, char_sets):
    """Strip multiple character sets from string."""
    result = text
    for chars in char_sets:
        result = result.strip(chars)
    return result


text = "***Hello World!!!"
char_sets = ["*", "!", " "]
result = strip_multiple(text, char_sets)
print(result)  # "Hello World"

Notes

  • Iterative stripping
  • Handles complex patterns
  • Flexible character removal
  • Useful for data cleaning

Strip with custom function

string strip custom function condition text

Strip characters using custom condition function

def strip_custom(text, condition_func):
    """Strip characters based on custom condition."""
    start = 0
    end = len(text)

    # Find start position
    while start < end and condition_func(text[start]):
        start += 1

    # Find end position
    while end > start and condition_func(text[end - 1]):
        end -= 1

    return text[start:end]


text = "123Hello World456"
result = strip_custom(text, str.isdigit)
print(result)  # "Hello World"

Notes

  • Uses custom condition function
  • Flexible character selection
  • Manual position tracking
  • Powerful customization

Strip with regex pattern

string strip regex pattern sub text

Strip characters matching regex pattern

import re


def strip_regex(text, pattern):
    """Strip characters matching regex pattern from ends."""
    # Strip from start
    text = re.sub(f"^{pattern}+", "", text)
    # Strip from end
    text = re.sub(f"{pattern}+$", "", text)
    return text


text = "***Hello World!!!"
result = strip_regex(text, r"[!*]")
print(result)  # "Hello World"

Notes

  • Uses regex substitution
  • Supports complex patterns
  • Handles multiple matches
  • Powerful pattern matching

Strip with character classes

string strip character classes string module text

Strip characters from predefined character classes

def strip_character_classes(text, classes):
    """Strip characters from specific character classes."""
    import string

    chars_to_strip = ""
    for char_class in classes:
        if char_class == "digits":
            chars_to_strip += string.digits
        elif char_class == "letters":
            chars_to_strip += string.ascii_letters
        elif char_class == "punctuation":
            chars_to_strip += string.punctuation
        elif char_class == "whitespace":
            chars_to_strip += string.whitespace
        elif char_class == "printable":
            chars_to_strip += string.printable

    return text.strip(chars_to_strip)


text = "123Hello World!!!"
result = strip_character_classes(text, ["digits", "punctuation"])
print(result)  # "Hello World"

Notes

  • Uses string module constants
  • Predefined character sets
  • Flexible class selection
  • Useful for data cleaning

Strip with position tracking

string strip positions tracking text

Strip characters and track positions

def strip_with_positions(text, chars=None):
    """Strip characters and return positions."""
    if chars is None:
        chars = " \t\n\r\f\v"

    start = 0
    end = len(text)

    # Find start position
    while start < end and text[start] in chars:
        start += 1

    # Find end position
    while end > start and text[end - 1] in chars:
        end -= 1

    stripped = text[start:end]
    return stripped, start, end


text = "  Hello World  "
result, start_pos, end_pos = strip_with_positions(text)
print(f"'{result}' (positions {start_pos}-{end_pos})")
# 'Hello World' (positions 2-12)

Notes

  • Returns stripped text and positions
  • Useful for text processing
  • Enables position-based operations
  • Combines stripping and tracking

🔗 Cross-References

🏷️ Tags

string, strip, positions, tracking, text

📝 Notes

  • Use str.strip(), str.lstrip(), and str.rstrip() for character removal
  • Position tracking is useful for advanced text processing
  • Related: whitespace normalization and removal