confused about the different built-in functions in Python
Cameron Simpson
cs at zip.com.au
Sun May 25 22:36:58 EDT 2014
On 25May2014 15:55, Deb Wyatt <codemonkey at inbox.com> wrote:
>I am confused about how various built-in functions are called. Some are
>called with dot notation
>
>each_item.isalpha()
>
>and some are called like 'normal'
>
>sum(numlist)
>
>How do you know/remember which way to call them?
Documentation.
However, some context:
each_item.isalpha() is not a builtin function as such. It is a method of the
"str" class.
Whereas "sum" _is_ a builtin function, a globally known name which can be
accessed and used without explicitly importing any module.
There's an explicit list of the builtin functions in the Python doco.
For a class, you can look at the doco for the class ("String methods" in the
python doco, for the "str" class), or run:
help(str)
at the interactive Python prompt.
Cheers,
Cameron Simpson <cs at zip.com.au>
Steinbach's Law: 2 is not equal to 3 -- even for large values of 2.
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