.. _compound: ******************* Compound statements ******************* .. index:: pair: compound; statement Compound statements contain (groups of) other statements; they affect or control the execution of those other statements in some way. In general, compound statements span multiple lines, although in simple incarnations a whole compound statement may be contained in one line. The :keyword:`if`, :keyword:`while` and :keyword:`for` statements implement traditional control flow constructs. :keyword:`try` specifies exception handlers and/or cleanup code for a group of statements, while the :keyword:`with` statement allows the execution of initialization and finalization code around a block of code. Function and class definitions are also syntactically compound statements. .. index:: single: clause single: suite single: ; (semicolon) A compound statement consists of one or more 'clauses.' A clause consists of a header and a 'suite.' The clause headers of a particular compound statement are all at the same indentation level. Each clause header begins with a uniquely identifying keyword and ends with a colon. A suite is a group of statements controlled by a clause. A suite can be one or more semicolon-separated simple statements on the same line as the header, following the header's colon, or it can be one or more indented statements on subsequent lines. Only the latter form of a suite can contain nested compound statements; the following is illegal, mostly because it wouldn't be clear to which :keyword:`if` clause a following :keyword:`else` clause would belong:: if test1: if test2: print(x) Also note that the semicolon binds tighter than the colon in this context, so that in the following example, either all or none of the :func:`print` calls are executed:: if x < y < z: print(x); print(y); print(z) Summarizing: .. productionlist:: python-grammar compound_stmt: `if_stmt` : | `while_stmt` : | `for_stmt` : | `try_stmt` : | `with_stmt` : | `match_stmt` : | `funcdef` : | `classdef` : | `async_with_stmt` : | `async_for_stmt` : | `async_funcdef` suite: `stmt_list` NEWLINE | NEWLINE INDENT `statement`+ DEDENT statement: `stmt_list` NEWLINE | `compound_stmt` stmt_list: `simple_stmt` (";" `simple_stmt`)* [";"] .. index:: single: NEWLINE token single: DEDENT token pair: dangling; else Note that statements always end in a ``NEWLINE`` possibly followed by a ``DEDENT``. Also note that optional continuation clauses always begin with a keyword that cannot start a statement, thus there are no ambiguities (the 'dangling :keyword:`else`' problem is solved in Python by requiring nested :keyword:`if` statements to be indented). The formatting of the grammar rules in the following sections places each clause on a separate line for clarity. .. _if: .. _elif: .. _else: The :keyword:`!if` statement ============================ .. index:: ! statement: if keyword: elif keyword: else single: : (colon); compound statement The :keyword:`if` statement is used for conditional execution: .. productionlist:: python-grammar if_stmt: "if" `assignment_expression` ":" `suite` : ("elif" `assignment_expression` ":" `suite`)* : ["else" ":" `suite`] It selects exactly one of the suites by evaluating the expressions one by one until one is found to be true (see section :ref:`booleans` for the definition of true and false); then that suite is executed (and no other part of the :keyword:`if` statement is executed or evaluated). If all expressions are false, the suite of the :keyword:`else` clause, if present, is executed. .. _while: The :keyword:`!while` statement =============================== .. index:: ! statement: while keyword: else pair: loop; statement single: : (colon); compound statement The :keyword:`while` statement is used for repeated execution as long as an expression is true: .. productionlist:: python-grammar while_stmt: "while" `assignment_expression` ":" `suite` : ["else" ":" `suite`] This repeatedly tests the expression and, if it is true, executes the first suite; if the expression is false (which may be the first time it is tested) the suite of the :keyword:`!else` clause, if present, is executed and the loop terminates. .. index:: statement: break statement: continue A :keyword:`break` statement executed in the first suite terminates the loop without executing the :keyword:`!else` clause's suite. A :keyword:`continue` statement executed in the first suite skips the rest of the suite and goes back to testing the expression. .. _for: The :keyword:`!for` statement ============================= .. index:: ! statement: for keyword: in keyword: else pair: target; list pair: loop; statement object: sequence single: : (colon); compound statement The :keyword:`for` statement is used to iterate over the elements of a sequence (such as a string, tuple or list) or other iterable object: .. productionlist:: python-grammar for_stmt: "for" `target_list` "in" `expression_list` ":" `suite` : ["else" ":" `suite`] The expression list is evaluated once; it should yield an iterable object. An iterator is created for the result of the ``expression_list``. The suite is then executed once for each item provided by the iterator, in the order returned by the iterator. Each item in turn is assigned to the target list using the standard rules for assignments (see :ref:`assignment`), and then the suite is executed. When the items are exhausted (which is immediately when the sequence is empty or an iterator raises a :exc:`StopIteration` exception), the suite in the :keyword:`!else` clause, if present, is executed, and the loop terminates. .. index:: statement: break statement: continue A :keyword:`break` statement executed in the first suite terminates the loop without executing the :keyword:`!else` clause's suite. A :keyword:`continue` statement executed in the first suite skips the rest of the suite and continues with the next item, or with the :keyword:`!else` clause if there is no next item. The for-loop makes assignments to the variables in the target list. This overwrites all previous assignments to those variables including those made in the suite of the for-loop:: for i in range(10): print(i) i = 5 # this will not affect the for-loop # because i will be overwritten with the next # index in the range .. index:: builtin: range Names in the target list are not deleted when the loop is finished, but if the sequence is empty, they will not have been assigned to at all by the loop. Hint: the built-in function :func:`range` returns an iterator of integers suitable to emulate the effect of Pascal's ``for i := a to b do``; e.g., ``list(range(3))`` returns the list ``[0, 1, 2]``. .. note:: .. index:: single: loop; over mutable sequence single: mutable sequence; loop over There is a subtlety when the sequence is being modified by the loop (this can only occur for mutable sequences, e.g. lists). An internal counter is used to keep track of which item is used next, and this is incremented on each iteration. When this counter has reached the length of the sequence the loop terminates. This means that if the suite deletes the current (or a previous) item from the sequence, the next item will be skipped (since it gets the index of the current item which has already been treated). Likewise, if the suite inserts an item in the sequence before the current item, the current item will be treated again the next time through the loop. This can lead to nasty bugs that can be avoided by making a temporary copy using a slice of the whole sequence, e.g., :: for x in a[:]: if x < 0: a.remove(x) .. _try: .. _except: .. _finally: The :keyword:`!try` statement ============================= .. index:: ! statement: try keyword: except keyword: finally keyword: else keyword: as single: : (colon); compound statement The :keyword:`try` statement specifies exception handlers and/or cleanup code for a group of statements: .. productionlist:: python-grammar try_stmt: `try1_stmt` | `try2_stmt` try1_stmt: "try" ":" `suite` : ("except" [`expression` ["as" `identifier`]] ":" `suite`)+ : ["else" ":" `suite`] : ["finally" ":" `suite`] try2_stmt: "try" ":" `suite` : "finally" ":" `suite` The :keyword:`except` clause(s) specify one or more exception handlers. When no exception occurs in the :keyword:`try` clause, no exception handler is executed. When an exception occurs in the :keyword:`!try` suite, a search for an exception handler is started. This search inspects the except clauses in turn until one is found that matches the exception. An expression-less except clause, if present, must be last; it matches any exception. For an except clause with an expression, that expression is evaluated, and the clause matches the exception if the resulting object is "compatible" with the exception. An object is compatible with an exception if it is the class or a base class of the exception object, or a tuple containing an item that is the class or a base class of the exception object. If no except clause matches the exception, the search for an exception handler continues in the surrounding code and on the invocation stack. [#]_ If the evaluation of an expression in the header of an except clause raises an exception, the original search for a handler is canceled and a search starts for the new exception in the surrounding code and on the call stack (it is treated as if the entire :keyword:`try` statement raised the exception). .. index:: single: as; except clause When a matching except clause is found, the exception is assigned to the target specified after the :keyword:`!as` keyword in that except clause, if present, and the except clause's suite is executed. All except clauses must have an executable block. When the end of this block is reached, execution continues normally after the entire try statement. (This means that if two nested handlers exist for the same exception, and the exception occurs in the try clause of the inner handler, the outer handler will not handle the exception.) When an exception has been assigned using ``as target``, it is cleared at the end of the except clause. This is as if :: except E as N: foo was translated to :: except E as N: try: foo finally: del N This means the exception must be assigned to a different name to be able to refer to it after the except clause. Exceptions are cleared because with the traceback attached to them, they form a reference cycle with the stack frame, keeping all locals in that frame alive until the next garbage collection occurs. .. index:: module: sys object: traceback Before an except clause's suite is executed, details about the exception are stored in the :mod:`sys` module and can be accessed via :func:`sys.exc_info`. :func:`sys.exc_info` returns a 3-tuple consisting of the exception class, the exception instance and a traceback object (see section :ref:`types`) identifying the point in the program where the exception occurred. The details about the exception accessed via :func:`sys.exc_info` are restored to their previous values when leaving an exception handler:: >>> print(sys.exc_info()) (None, None, None) >>> try: ... raise TypeError ... except: ... print(sys.exc_info()) ... try: ... raise ValueError ... except: ... print(sys.exc_info()) ... print(sys.exc_info()) ... (, TypeError(), ) (, ValueError(), ) (, TypeError(), ) >>> print(sys.exc_info()) (None, None, None) .. index:: keyword: else statement: return statement: break statement: continue The optional :keyword:`!else` clause is executed if the control flow leaves the :keyword:`try` suite, no exception was raised, and no :keyword:`return`, :keyword:`continue`, or :keyword:`break` statement was executed. Exceptions in the :keyword:`!else` clause are not handled by the preceding :keyword:`except` clauses. .. index:: keyword: finally If :keyword:`finally` is present, it specifies a 'cleanup' handler. The :keyword:`try` clause is executed, including any :keyword:`except` and :keyword:`!else` clauses. If an exception occurs in any of the clauses and is not handled, the exception is temporarily saved. The :keyword:`!finally` clause is executed. If there is a saved exception it is re-raised at the end of the :keyword:`!finally` clause. If the :keyword:`!finally` clause raises another exception, the saved exception is set as the context of the new exception. If the :keyword:`!finally` clause executes a :keyword:`return`, :keyword:`break` or :keyword:`continue` statement, the saved exception is discarded:: >>> def f(): ... try: ... 1/0 ... finally: ... return 42 ... >>> f() 42 The exception information is not available to the program during execution of the :keyword:`finally` clause. .. index:: statement: return statement: break statement: continue When a :keyword:`return`, :keyword:`break` or :keyword:`continue` statement is executed in the :keyword:`try` suite of a :keyword:`!try`...\ :keyword:`!finally` statement, the :keyword:`finally` clause is also executed 'on the way out.' The return value of a function is determined by the last :keyword:`return` statement executed. Since the :keyword:`finally` clause always executes, a :keyword:`!return` statement executed in the :keyword:`!finally` clause will always be the last one executed:: >>> def foo(): ... try: ... return 'try' ... finally: ... return 'finally' ... >>> foo() 'finally' Additional information on exceptions can be found in section :ref:`exceptions`, and information on using the :keyword:`raise` statement to generate exceptions may be found in section :ref:`raise`. .. versionchanged:: 3.8 Prior to Python 3.8, a :keyword:`continue` statement was illegal in the :keyword:`finally` clause due to a problem with the implementation. .. _with: .. _as: The :keyword:`!with` statement ============================== .. index:: ! statement: with keyword: as single: as; with statement single: , (comma); with statement single: : (colon); compound statement The :keyword:`with` statement is used to wrap the execution of a block with methods defined by a context manager (see section :ref:`context-managers`). This allows common :keyword:`try`...\ :keyword:`except`...\ :keyword:`finally` usage patterns to be encapsulated for convenient reuse. .. productionlist:: python-grammar with_stmt: "with" ( "(" `with_stmt_contents` ","? ")" | `with_stmt_contents` ) ":" `suite` with_stmt_contents: `with_item` ("," `with_item`)* with_item: `expression` ["as" `target`] The execution of the :keyword:`with` statement with one "item" proceeds as follows: #. The context expression (the expression given in the :token:`with_item`) is evaluated to obtain a context manager. #. The context manager's :meth:`__enter__` is loaded for later use. #. The context manager's :meth:`__exit__` is loaded for later use. #. The context manager's :meth:`__enter__` method is invoked. #. If a target was included in the :keyword:`with` statement, the return value from :meth:`__enter__` is assigned to it. .. note:: The :keyword:`with` statement guarantees that if the :meth:`__enter__` method returns without an error, then :meth:`__exit__` will always be called. Thus, if an error occurs during the assignment to the target list, it will be treated the same as an error occurring within the suite would be. See step 6 below. #. The suite is executed. #. The context manager's :meth:`__exit__` method is invoked. If an exception caused the suite to be exited, its type, value, and traceback are passed as arguments to :meth:`__exit__`. Otherwise, three :const:`None` arguments are supplied. If the suite was exited due to an exception, and the return value from the :meth:`__exit__` method was false, the exception is reraised. If the return value was true, the exception is suppressed, and execution continues with the statement following the :keyword:`with` statement. If the suite was exited for any reason other than an exception, the return value from :meth:`__exit__` is ignored, and execution proceeds at the normal location for the kind of exit that was taken. The following code:: with EXPRESSION as TARGET: SUITE is semantically equivalent to:: manager = (EXPRESSION) enter = type(manager).__enter__ exit = type(manager).__exit__ value = enter(manager) hit_except = False try: TARGET = value SUITE except: hit_except = True if not exit(manager, *sys.exc_info()): raise finally: if not hit_except: exit(manager, None, None, None) With more than one item, the context managers are processed as if multiple :keyword:`with` statements were nested:: with A() as a, B() as b: SUITE is semantically equivalent to:: with A() as a: with B() as b: SUITE You can also write multi-item context managers in multiple lines if the items are surrounded by parentheses. For example:: with ( A() as a, B() as b, ): SUITE .. versionchanged:: 3.1 Support for multiple context expressions. .. versionchanged:: 3.10 Support for using grouping parentheses to break the statement in multiple lines. .. seealso:: :pep:`343` - The "with" statement The specification, background, and examples for the Python :keyword:`with` statement. .. _match: The :keyword:`!match` statement =============================== .. index:: ! statement: match ! keyword: case ! single: pattern matching keyword: if keyword: as pair: match; case single: : (colon); compound statement .. versionadded:: 3.10 The match statement is used for pattern matching. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar match_stmt: 'match' `subject_expr` ":" NEWLINE INDENT `case_block`+ DEDENT subject_expr: `star_named_expression` "," `star_named_expressions`? : | `named_expression` case_block: 'case' `patterns` [`guard`] ':' `block` .. note:: This section uses single quotes to denote :ref:`soft keywords `. Pattern matching takes a pattern as input (following ``case``) and a subject value (following ``match``). The pattern (which may contain subpatterns) is matched against the subject value. The outcomes are: * A match success or failure (also termed a pattern success or failure). * Possible binding of matched values to a name. The prerequisites for this are further discussed below. The ``match`` and ``case`` keywords are :ref:`soft keywords `. .. seealso:: * :pep:`634` -- Structural Pattern Matching: Specification * :pep:`636` -- Structural Pattern Matching: Tutorial Overview -------- Here's an overview of the logical flow of a match statement: #. The subject expression ``subject_expr`` is evaluated and a resulting subject value obtained. If the subject expression contains a comma, a tuple is constructed using :ref:`the standard rules `. #. Each pattern in a ``case_block`` is attempted to match with the subject value. The specific rules for success or failure are described below. The match attempt can also bind some or all of the standalone names within the pattern. The precise pattern binding rules vary per pattern type and are specified below. **Name bindings made during a successful pattern match outlive the executed block and can be used after the match statement**. .. note:: During failed pattern matches, some subpatterns may succeed. Do not rely on bindings being made for a failed match. Conversely, do not rely on variables remaining unchanged after a failed match. The exact behavior is dependent on implementation and may vary. This is an intentional decision made to allow different implementations to add optimizations. #. If the pattern succeeds, the corresponding guard (if present) is evaluated. In this case all name bindings are guaranteed to have happened. * If the guard evaluates as truthy or missing, the ``block`` inside ``case_block`` is executed. * Otherwise, the next ``case_block`` is attempted as described above. * If there are no further case blocks, the match statement is completed. .. note:: Users should generally never rely on a pattern being evaluated. Depending on implementation, the interpreter may cache values or use other optimizations which skip repeated evaluations. A sample match statement:: >>> flag = False >>> match (100, 200): ... case (100, 300): # Mismatch: 200 != 300 ... print('Case 1') ... case (100, 200) if flag: # Successful match, but guard fails ... print('Case 2') ... case (100, y): # Matches and binds y to 200 ... print(f'Case 3, y: {y}') ... case _: # Pattern not attempted ... print('Case 4, I match anything!') ... Case 3, y: 200 In this case, ``if flag`` is a guard. Read more about that in the next section. Guards ------ .. index:: ! guard .. productionlist:: python-grammar guard: "if" `named_expression` A ``guard`` (which is part of the ``case``) must succeed for code inside the ``case`` block to execute. It takes the form: :keyword:`if` followed by an expression. The logical flow of a ``case`` block with a ``guard`` follows: #. Check that the pattern in the ``case`` block succeeded. If the pattern failed, the ``guard`` is not evaluated and the next ``case`` block is checked. #. If the pattern succeeded, evaluate the ``guard``. * If the ``guard`` condition evaluates to "truthy", the case block is selected. * If the ``guard`` condition evaluates to "falsy", the case block is not selected. * If the ``guard`` raises an exception during evaluation, the exception bubbles up. Guards are allowed to have side effects as they are expressions. Guard evaluation must proceed from the first to the last case block, one at a time, skipping case blocks whose pattern(s) don't all succeed. (I.e., guard evaluation must happen in order.) Guard evaluation must stop once a case block is selected. .. _irrefutable_case: Irrefutable Case Blocks ----------------------- .. index:: irrefutable case block, case block An irrefutable case block is a match-all case block. A match statement may have at most one irrefutable case block, and it must be last. A case block is considered irrefutable if it has no guard and its pattern is irrefutable. A pattern is considered irrefutable if we can prove from its syntax alone that it will always succeed. Only the following patterns are irrefutable: * :ref:`as-patterns` whose left-hand side is irrefutable * :ref:`or-patterns` containing at least one irrefutable pattern * :ref:`capture-patterns` * :ref:`wildcard-patterns` * parenthesized irrefutable patterns Patterns -------- .. index:: single: ! patterns single: AS pattern, OR pattern, capture pattern, wildcard pattern .. note:: This section uses grammar notations beyond standard EBNF: * the notation ``SEP.RULE+`` is shorthand for ``RULE (SEP RULE)*`` * the notation ``!RULE`` is shorthand for a negative lookahead assertion The top-level syntax for ``patterns`` is: .. productionlist:: python-grammar patterns: `open_sequence_pattern` | `pattern` pattern: `as_pattern` | `or_pattern` closed_pattern: | `literal_pattern` : | `capture_pattern` : | `wildcard_pattern` : | `value_pattern` : | `group_pattern` : | `sequence_pattern` : | `mapping_pattern` : | `class_pattern` The descriptions below will include a description "in simple terms" of what a pattern does for illustration purposes (credits to Raymond Hettinger for a document that inspired most of the descriptions). Note that these descriptions are purely for illustration purposes and **may not** reflect the underlying implementation. Furthermore, they do not cover all valid forms. .. _or-patterns: OR Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^ An OR pattern is two or more patterns separated by vertical bars ``|``. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar or_pattern: "|".`closed_pattern`+ Only the final subpattern may be :ref:`irrefutable `, and each subpattern must bind the same set of names to avoid ambiguity. An OR pattern matches each of its subpatterns in turn to the subject value, until one succeeds. The OR pattern is then considered successful. Otherwise, if none of the subpatterns succeed, the OR pattern fails. In simple terms, ``P1 | P2 | ...`` will try to match ``P1``, if it fails it will try to match ``P2``, succeeding immediately if any succeeds, failing otherwise. .. _as-patterns: AS Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^ An AS pattern matches an OR pattern on the left of the :keyword:`as` keyword against a subject. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar as_pattern: `or_pattern` "as" `capture_pattern` If the OR pattern fails, the AS pattern fails. Otherwise, the AS pattern binds the subject to the name on the right of the as keyword and succeeds. ``capture_pattern`` cannot be a a ``_``. In simple terms ``P as NAME`` will match with ``P``, and on success it will set ``NAME = ``. .. _literal-patterns: Literal Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A literal pattern corresponds to most :ref:`literals ` in Python. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar literal_pattern: `signed_number` : | `signed_number` "+" NUMBER : | `signed_number` "-" NUMBER : | `strings` : | "None" : | "True" : | "False" : | `signed_number`: NUMBER | "-" NUMBER The rule ``strings`` and the token ``NUMBER`` are defined in the :doc:`standard Python grammar <./grammar>`. Triple-quoted strings are supported. Raw strings and byte strings are supported. :ref:`f-strings` are not supported. The forms ``signed_number '+' NUMBER`` and ``signed_number '-' NUMBER`` are for expressing :ref:`complex numbers `; they require a real number on the left and an imaginary number on the right. E.g. ``3 + 4j``. In simple terms, ``LITERAL`` will succeed only if `` == LITERAL``. For the singletons ``None``, ``True`` and ``False``, the :keyword:`is` operator is used. .. _capture-patterns: Capture Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A capture pattern binds the subject value to a name. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar capture_pattern: !'_' NAME A single underscore ``_`` is not a capture pattern (this is what ``!'_'`` expresses). And is instead treated as a :token:`wildcard_pattern`. In a given pattern, a given name can only be bound once. E.g. ``case x, x: ...`` is invalid while ``case [x] | x: ...`` is allowed. Capture patterns always succeed. The binding follows scoping rules established by the assignment expression operator in :pep:`572`; the name becomes a local variable in the closest containing function scope unless there's an applicable :keyword:`global` or :keyword:`nonlocal` statement. In simple terms ``NAME`` will always succeed and it will set ``NAME = ``. .. _wildcard-patterns: Wildcard Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A wildcard pattern always succeeds (matches anything) and binds no name. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar wildcard_pattern: '_' ``_`` is a :ref:`soft keyword `. In simple terms, ``_`` will always succeed. .. _value-patterns: Value Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A value pattern represents a named value in Python. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar value_pattern: `attr` attr: `name_or_attr` "." NAME name_or_attr: `attr` | NAME The dotted name in the pattern is looked up using standard Python :ref:`name resolution rules `. The pattern succeeds if the value found compares equal to the subject value (using the ``==`` equality operator). In simple terms ``NAME1.NAME2`` will succeed only if `` == NAME1.NAME2`` .. note:: If the same value occurs multiple times in the same match statement, the interpreter may cache the first value found and reuse it rather than repeat the same lookup. This cache is strictly tied to a given execution of a given match statement. .. _group-patterns: Group Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A group pattern allows users to add parentheses around patterns to emphasize the intended grouping. Otherwise, it has no additional syntax. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar group_pattern: '(' `pattern` ')' In simple terms ``(P)`` has the same effect as ``P``. .. _sequence-patterns: Sequence Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A sequence pattern contains several subpatterns to be matched against sequence elements. The syntax is similar to the unpacking of a list or tuple. .. productionlist:: python-grammar sequence_pattern: "[" [`maybe_sequence_pattern`] "]" : | "(" [`open_sequence_pattern`] ")" open_sequence_pattern: `maybe_star_pattern` "," [`maybe_sequence_pattern`] maybe_sequence_pattern: ",".`maybe_star_pattern`+ ","? maybe_star_pattern: `star_pattern` | `pattern` star_pattern: "*" (`capture_pattern` | `wildcard_pattern`) There is no difference if parentheses or square brackets are used for sequence patterns (i.e. ``(...)`` vs ``[...]`` ). .. note:: A single pattern enclosed in parentheses without a trailing comma (e.g. ``(3 | 4)``) is a :ref:`group pattern `. While a single pattern enclosed in square brackets (e.g. ``[3 | 4]``) is still a sequence pattern. At most one star subpattern may be in a sequence pattern. The star subpattern may occur in any position. If no star subpattern is present, the sequence pattern is a fixed-length sequence pattern; otherwise it is a variable-length sequence pattern. The following is the logical flow for matching a sequence pattern against a subject value: #. If the subject value is not an instance of a :class:`collections.abc.Sequence` the sequence pattern fails. #. If the subject value is an instance of ``str``, ``bytes`` or ``bytearray`` the sequence pattern fails. #. The subsequent steps depend on whether the sequence pattern is fixed or variable-length. If the sequence pattern is fixed-length: #. If the length of the subject sequence is not equal to the number of subpatterns, the sequence pattern fails #. Subpatterns in the sequence pattern are matched to their corresponding items in the subject sequence from left to right. Matching stops as soon as a subpattern fails. If all subpatterns succeed in matching their corresponding item, the sequence pattern succeeds. Otherwise, if the sequence pattern is variable-length: #. If the length of the subject sequence is less than the number of non-star subpatterns, the sequence pattern fails. #. The leading non-star subpatterns are matched to their corresponding items as for fixed-length sequences. #. If the previous step succeeds, the star subpattern matches a list formed of the remaining subject items, excluding the remaining items corresponding to non-star subpatterns following the star subpattern. #. Remaining non-star subpatterns are matched to their corresponding subject items, as for a fixed-length sequence. .. note:: The length of the subject sequence is obtained via :func:`len` (i.e. via the :meth:`__len__` protocol). This length may be cached by the interpreter in a similar manner as :ref:`value patterns `. In simple terms ``[P1, P2, P3,`` ... ``, P]`` matches only if all the following happens: * ``isinstance(, collections.abc.Sequence)`` * ``len(subject) == `` * ``P1`` matches ``[0]`` (note that this match can also bind names) * ``P2`` matches ``[1]`` (note that this match can also bind names) * ... and so on for the corresponding pattern/element. .. _mapping-patterns: Mapping Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A mapping pattern contains one or more key-value patterns. The syntax is similar to the construction of a dictionary. Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar mapping_pattern: "{" [`items_pattern`] "}" items_pattern: ",".`key_value_pattern`+ ","? key_value_pattern: (`literal_pattern` | `value_pattern`) ":" `pattern` : | `double_star_pattern` double_star_pattern: "**" `capture_pattern` At most one double star pattern may be in a mapping pattern. The double star pattern must be the last subpattern in the mapping pattern. Duplicate key values in mapping patterns are disallowed. (If all key patterns are literal patterns this is considered a syntax error; otherwise this is a runtime error and will raise :exc:`ValueError`.) The following is the logical flow for matching a mapping pattern against a subject value: #. If the subject value is not an instance of :class:`collections.abc.Mapping`, the mapping pattern fails. #. If every key given in the mapping pattern is present in the subject mapping, and the pattern for each key matches the corresponding item of the subject mapping, the mapping pattern succeeds. #. If duplicate keys are detected in the mapping pattern, the pattern is considered invalid and :exc:`ValueError` is raised. .. note:: Key-value pairs are matched using the two-argument form of the mapping subject's ``get()`` method. Matched key-value pairs must already be present in the mapping, and not created on-the-fly via :meth:`__missing__` or :meth:`__getitem__`. In simple terms ``{KEY1: P1, KEY2: P2, ... }`` matches only if all the following happens: * ``isinstance(, collections.abc.Mapping)`` * ``KEY1 in `` * ``P1`` matches ``[KEY1]`` * ... and so on for the corresponding KEY/pattern pair. .. _class-patterns: Class Patterns ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A class pattern represents a class and its positional and keyword arguments (if any). Syntax: .. productionlist:: python-grammar class_pattern: `name_or_attr` "(" [`pattern_arguments` ","?] ")" pattern_arguments: `positional_patterns` ["," `keyword_patterns`] : | `keyword_patterns` positional_patterns: ",".`pattern`+ keyword_patterns: ",".`keyword_pattern`+ keyword_pattern: NAME "=" `pattern` The same keyword should not be repeated in class patterns. The following is the logical flow for matching a mapping pattern against a subject value: #. If ``name_or_attr`` is not an instance of the builtin :class:`type` , raise :exc:`TypeError`. #. If the subject value is not an instance of ``name_or_attr`` (tested via :func:`isinstance`), the class pattern fails. #. If no pattern arguments are present, the pattern succeeds. Otherwise, the subsequent steps depend on whether keyword or positional argument patterns are present. For a number of built-in types (specified below), a single positional subpattern is accepted which will match the entire subject; for these types keyword patterns also work as for other types. If only keyword patterns are present, they are processed as follows, one by one: I. The keyword is looked up as an attribute on the subject. * If this raises an exception other than :exc:`AttributeError`, the exception bubbles up. * If this raises :exc:`AttributeError`, the class pattern has failed. * Else, the subpattern associated with the keyword pattern is matched against the subject's attribute value. If this fails, the class pattern fails; if this succeeds, the match proceeds to the next keyword. II. If all keyword patterns succeed, the class pattern succeeds. If any positional patterns are present, they are converted to keyword patterns using the :data:`~object.__match_args__` attribute on the class ``name_or_attr`` before matching: I. The equivalent of ``getattr(cls, "__match_args__", ()))`` is called. * If this raises an exception, the exception bubbles up. * If the returned value is not a tuple, the conversion fails and :exc:`TypeError` is raised. * If there are more positional patterns than ``len(cls.__match_args__)``, :exc:`TypeError` is raised. * Otherwise, positional pattern ``i`` is converted to a keyword pattern using ``__match_args__[i]`` as the keyword. ``__match_args__[i]`` must be a string; if not :exc:`TypeError` is raised. * If there are duplicate keywords, :exc:`TypeError` is raised. .. seealso:: :ref:`class-pattern-matching` II. Once all positional patterns have been converted to keyword patterns, the match proceeds as if there were only keyword patterns. For the following built-in types the handling of positional subpatterns is different: * :class:`bool` * :class:`bytearray` * :class:`bytes` * :class:`dict` * :class:`float` * :class:`frozenset` * :class:`int` * :class:`list` * :class:`set` * :class:`str` * :class:`tuple` These classes accept a single positional argument, and the pattern there is matched against the whole object rather than an attribute. For example ``int(0|1)`` matches the value ``0``, but not the values ``0.0`` or ``False``. In simple terms ``CLS(P1, attr=P2)`` matches only if the following happens: * ``isinstance(, CLS)`` * convert ``P1`` to a keyword pattern using ``CLS.__match_args__`` * For each keyword argument ``attr=P2``: * ``hasattr(, "attr")`` * ``P2`` matches ``.attr`` * ... and so on for the corresponding keyword argument/pattern pair. .. seealso:: * :pep:`634` -- Structural Pattern Matching: Specification * :pep:`636` -- Structural Pattern Matching: Tutorial .. index:: single: parameter; function definition .. _function: .. _def: Function definitions ==================== .. index:: statement: def pair: function; definition pair: function; name pair: name; binding object: user-defined function object: function pair: function; name pair: name; binding single: () (parentheses); function definition single: , (comma); parameter list single: : (colon); compound statement A function definition defines a user-defined function object (see section :ref:`types`): .. productionlist:: python-grammar funcdef: [`decorators`] "def" `funcname` "(" [`parameter_list`] ")" : ["->" `expression`] ":" `suite` decorators: `decorator`+ decorator: "@" `assignment_expression` NEWLINE dotted_name: `identifier` ("." `identifier`)* parameter_list: `defparameter` ("," `defparameter`)* "," "/" ["," [`parameter_list_no_posonly`]] : | `parameter_list_no_posonly` parameter_list_no_posonly: `defparameter` ("," `defparameter`)* ["," [`parameter_list_starargs`]] : | `parameter_list_starargs` parameter_list_starargs: "*" [`parameter`] ("," `defparameter`)* ["," ["**" `parameter` [","]]] : | "**" `parameter` [","] parameter: `identifier` [":" `expression`] defparameter: `parameter` ["=" `expression`] funcname: `identifier` A function definition is an executable statement. Its execution binds the function name in the current local namespace to a function object (a wrapper around the executable code for the function). This function object contains a reference to the current global namespace as the global namespace to be used when the function is called. The function definition does not execute the function body; this gets executed only when the function is called. [#]_ .. index:: single: @ (at); function definition A function definition may be wrapped by one or more :term:`decorator` expressions. Decorator expressions are evaluated when the function is defined, in the scope that contains the function definition. The result must be a callable, which is invoked with the function object as the only argument. The returned value is bound to the function name instead of the function object. Multiple decorators are applied in nested fashion. For example, the following code :: @f1(arg) @f2 def func(): pass is roughly equivalent to :: def func(): pass func = f1(arg)(f2(func)) except that the original function is not temporarily bound to the name ``func``. .. versionchanged:: 3.9 Functions may be decorated with any valid :token:`assignment_expression`. Previously, the grammar was much more restrictive; see :pep:`614` for details. .. index:: triple: default; parameter; value single: argument; function definition single: = (equals); function definition When one or more :term:`parameters ` have the form *parameter* ``=`` *expression*, the function is said to have "default parameter values." For a parameter with a default value, the corresponding :term:`argument` may be omitted from a call, in which case the parameter's default value is substituted. If a parameter has a default value, all following parameters up until the "``*``" must also have a default value --- this is a syntactic restriction that is not expressed by the grammar. **Default parameter values are evaluated from left to right when the function definition is executed.** This means that the expression is evaluated once, when the function is defined, and that the same "pre-computed" value is used for each call. This is especially important to understand when a default parameter value is a mutable object, such as a list or a dictionary: if the function modifies the object (e.g. by appending an item to a list), the default parameter value is in effect modified. This is generally not what was intended. A way around this is to use ``None`` as the default, and explicitly test for it in the body of the function, e.g.:: def whats_on_the_telly(penguin=None): if penguin is None: penguin = [] penguin.append("property of the zoo") return penguin .. index:: single: / (slash); function definition single: * (asterisk); function definition single: **; function definition Function call semantics are described in more detail in section :ref:`calls`. A function call always assigns values to all parameters mentioned in the parameter list, either from positional arguments, from keyword arguments, or from default values. If the form "``*identifier``" is present, it is initialized to a tuple receiving any excess positional parameters, defaulting to the empty tuple. If the form "``**identifier``" is present, it is initialized to a new ordered mapping receiving any excess keyword arguments, defaulting to a new empty mapping of the same type. Parameters after "``*``" or "``*identifier``" are keyword-only parameters and may only be passed by keyword arguments. Parameters before "``/``" are positional-only parameters and may only be passed by positional arguments. .. versionchanged:: 3.8 The ``/`` function parameter syntax may be used to indicate positional-only parameters. See :pep:`570` for details. .. index:: pair: function; annotations single: ->; function annotations single: : (colon); function annotations Parameters may have an :term:`annotation ` of the form "``: expression``" following the parameter name. Any parameter may have an annotation, even those of the form ``*identifier`` or ``**identifier``. Functions may have "return" annotation of the form "``-> expression``" after the parameter list. These annotations can be any valid Python expression. The presence of annotations does not change the semantics of a function. The annotation values are available as string values in a dictionary keyed by the parameters' names in the :attr:`__annotations__` attribute of the function object. .. index:: pair: lambda; expression It is also possible to create anonymous functions (functions not bound to a name), for immediate use in expressions. This uses lambda expressions, described in section :ref:`lambda`. Note that the lambda expression is merely a shorthand for a simplified function definition; a function defined in a ":keyword:`def`" statement can be passed around or assigned to another name just like a function defined by a lambda expression. The ":keyword:`!def`" form is actually more powerful since it allows the execution of multiple statements and annotations. **Programmer's note:** Functions are first-class objects. A "``def``" statement executed inside a function definition defines a local function that can be returned or passed around. Free variables used in the nested function can access the local variables of the function containing the def. See section :ref:`naming` for details. .. seealso:: :pep:`3107` - Function Annotations The original specification for function annotations. :pep:`484` - Type Hints Definition of a standard meaning for annotations: type hints. :pep:`526` - Syntax for Variable Annotations Ability to type hint variable declarations, including class variables and instance variables :pep:`563` - Postponed Evaluation of Annotations Support for forward references within annotations by preserving annotations in a string form at runtime instead of eager evaluation. .. _class: Class definitions ================= .. index:: object: class statement: class pair: class; definition pair: class; name pair: name; binding pair: execution; frame single: inheritance single: docstring single: () (parentheses); class definition single: , (comma); expression list single: : (colon); compound statement A class definition defines a class object (see section :ref:`types`): .. productionlist:: python-grammar classdef: [`decorators`] "class" `classname` [`inheritance`] ":" `suite` inheritance: "(" [`argument_list`] ")" classname: `identifier` A class definition is an executable statement. The inheritance list usually gives a list of base classes (see :ref:`metaclasses` for more advanced uses), so each item in the list should evaluate to a class object which allows subclassing. Classes without an inheritance list inherit, by default, from the base class :class:`object`; hence, :: class Foo: pass is equivalent to :: class Foo(object): pass The class's suite is then executed in a new execution frame (see :ref:`naming`), using a newly created local namespace and the original global namespace. (Usually, the suite contains mostly function definitions.) When the class's suite finishes execution, its execution frame is discarded but its local namespace is saved. [#]_ A class object is then created using the inheritance list for the base classes and the saved local namespace for the attribute dictionary. The class name is bound to this class object in the original local namespace. The order in which attributes are defined in the class body is preserved in the new class's ``__dict__``. Note that this is reliable only right after the class is created and only for classes that were defined using the definition syntax. Class creation can be customized heavily using :ref:`metaclasses `. .. index:: single: @ (at); class definition Classes can also be decorated: just like when decorating functions, :: @f1(arg) @f2 class Foo: pass is roughly equivalent to :: class Foo: pass Foo = f1(arg)(f2(Foo)) The evaluation rules for the decorator expressions are the same as for function decorators. The result is then bound to the class name. .. versionchanged:: 3.9 Classes may be decorated with any valid :token:`assignment_expression`. Previously, the grammar was much more restrictive; see :pep:`614` for details. **Programmer's note:** Variables defined in the class definition are class attributes; they are shared by instances. Instance attributes can be set in a method with ``self.name = value``. Both class and instance attributes are accessible through the notation "``self.name``", and an instance attribute hides a class attribute with the same name when accessed in this way. Class attributes can be used as defaults for instance attributes, but using mutable values there can lead to unexpected results. :ref:`Descriptors ` can be used to create instance variables with different implementation details. .. seealso:: :pep:`3115` - Metaclasses in Python 3000 The proposal that changed the declaration of metaclasses to the current syntax, and the semantics for how classes with metaclasses are constructed. :pep:`3129` - Class Decorators The proposal that added class decorators. Function and method decorators were introduced in :pep:`318`. .. _async: Coroutines ========== .. versionadded:: 3.5 .. index:: statement: async def .. _`async def`: Coroutine function definition ----------------------------- .. productionlist:: python-grammar async_funcdef: [`decorators`] "async" "def" `funcname` "(" [`parameter_list`] ")" : ["->" `expression`] ":" `suite` .. index:: keyword: async keyword: await Execution of Python coroutines can be suspended and resumed at many points (see :term:`coroutine`). :keyword:`await` expressions, :keyword:`async for` and :keyword:`async with` can only be used in the body of a coroutine function. Functions defined with ``async def`` syntax are always coroutine functions, even if they do not contain ``await`` or ``async`` keywords. It is a :exc:`SyntaxError` to use a ``yield from`` expression inside the body of a coroutine function. An example of a coroutine function:: async def func(param1, param2): do_stuff() await some_coroutine() .. versionchanged:: 3.7 ``await`` and ``async`` are now keywords; previously they were only treated as such inside the body of a coroutine function. .. index:: statement: async for .. _`async for`: The :keyword:`!async for` statement ----------------------------------- .. productionlist:: python-grammar async_for_stmt: "async" `for_stmt` An :term:`asynchronous iterable` provides an ``__aiter__`` method that directly returns an :term:`asynchronous iterator`, which can call asynchronous code in its ``__anext__`` method. The ``async for`` statement allows convenient iteration over asynchronous iterables. The following code:: async for TARGET in ITER: SUITE else: SUITE2 Is semantically equivalent to:: iter = (ITER) iter = type(iter).__aiter__(iter) running = True while running: try: TARGET = await type(iter).__anext__(iter) except StopAsyncIteration: running = False else: SUITE else: SUITE2 See also :meth:`__aiter__` and :meth:`__anext__` for details. It is a :exc:`SyntaxError` to use an ``async for`` statement outside the body of a coroutine function. .. index:: statement: async with .. _`async with`: The :keyword:`!async with` statement ------------------------------------ .. productionlist:: python-grammar async_with_stmt: "async" `with_stmt` An :term:`asynchronous context manager` is a :term:`context manager` that is able to suspend execution in its *enter* and *exit* methods. The following code:: async with EXPRESSION as TARGET: SUITE is semantically equivalent to:: manager = (EXPRESSION) aenter = type(manager).__aenter__ aexit = type(manager).__aexit__ value = await aenter(manager) hit_except = False try: TARGET = value SUITE except: hit_except = True if not await aexit(manager, *sys.exc_info()): raise finally: if not hit_except: await aexit(manager, None, None, None) See also :meth:`__aenter__` and :meth:`__aexit__` for details. It is a :exc:`SyntaxError` to use an ``async with`` statement outside the body of a coroutine function. .. seealso:: :pep:`492` - Coroutines with async and await syntax The proposal that made coroutines a proper standalone concept in Python, and added supporting syntax. .. rubric:: Footnotes .. [#] The exception is propagated to the invocation stack unless there is a :keyword:`finally` clause which happens to raise another exception. That new exception causes the old one to be lost. .. [#] A string literal appearing as the first statement in the function body is transformed into the function's ``__doc__`` attribute and therefore the function's :term:`docstring`. .. [#] A string literal appearing as the first statement in the class body is transformed into the namespace's ``__doc__`` item and therefore the class's :term:`docstring`.