Python ascii()

Python ascii() function takes an object (like a string) and returns a printable representation of it. It converts any non-ASCII characters into escape sequences (like \u followed by the Unicode code point), making it safe to use in situations where only ASCII characters are allowed.

ascii() Syntax

result = ascii(object)
  • result: Stores the ASCII-safe string representation.
  • ascii(): The built-in Python function for conversion.
  • object: The object (string, list, etc.) you want to make ASCII-safe.

Example 1: Python ascii()

text = "Café"  # Contains a non-ASCII character (é)
ascii_text = ascii(text)
print(ascii_text)

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: Assigns a string with a non-ASCII character to the text variable
  • Line 2: The ascii() function converts the non-ASCII character ‘é’ into its escape sequence ‘\xe9’
  • Line 3: Prints the ASCII-safe representation

Output

‘Caf\xe9’


Example 2: Python ascii() with List

my_list = ["apple", "piña", "banana"]
ascii_list = ascii(my_list)
print(ascii_list)  # Output: ['apple', 'pi\xf1a', 'banana']

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: A list containing strings, one with a non-ASCII character
  • Line 2: ascii() processes each element in the list, converting non-ASCII characters
  • Line 3: Prints the ASCII-safe representation of the list

Output

[‘apple’, ‘pi\xf1a’, ‘banana’]


Example 3: Python ascii() with Set

my_set = {"café", "tea", "latte"}
ascii_set = ascii(my_set)
print(ascii_set)

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: A set containing strings, one with a non-ASCII character
  • Line 2: ascii() converts non-ASCII characters within the set elements
  • Line 3: Prints the ASCII-safe representation, note that sets are unordered

Output

{‘tea’, ‘caf\xe9’, ‘latte’}


Example 4: Python ascii() with Tuple

my_tuple = ("hello", "world", "olé!")
ascii_tuple = ascii(my_tuple)
print(ascii_tuple)

Code Explanation

  • Line 1: A tuple with strings, one containing a non-ASCII character
  • Line 2: ascii() handles the non-ASCII character within the tuple
  • Line 3: Prints the ASCII-safe version of the tuple

Output

(‘hello’, ‘world’, ‘ol\xe9!’)


Also Read

Python any()

Python bin()