pep-0215.txt

PEP: 215
Title: String Interpolation
Author: Ka-Ping Yee <ping@zesty.ca>
Status: Superseded
Type: Standards Track
Content-Type: text/x-rst
Created: 24-Jul-2000
Python-Version: 2.1
Post-History:
Superseded-By: 292


Abstract
========

This document proposes a string interpolation feature for Python
to allow easier string formatting.  The suggested syntax change
is the introduction of a '$' prefix that triggers the special
interpretation of the '$' character within a string, in a manner
reminiscent to the variable interpolation found in Unix shells,
awk, Perl, or Tcl.


Copyright
=========

This document is in the public domain.


Specification
=============

Strings may be preceded with a '$' prefix that comes before the
leading single or double quotation mark (or triplet) and before
any of the other string prefixes ('r' or 'u').  Such a string is
processed for interpolation after the normal interpretation of
backslash-escapes in its contents.  The processing occurs just
before the string is pushed onto the value stack, each time the
string is pushed.  In short, Python behaves exactly as if '$'
were a unary operator applied to the string.  The operation
performed is as follows:

The string is scanned from start to end for the '$' character
(``\x24`` in 8-bit strings or ``\u0024`` in Unicode strings).  If there
are no '$' characters present, the string is returned unchanged.

Any '$' found in the string, followed by one of the two kinds of
expressions described below, is replaced with the value of the
expression as evaluated in the current namespaces.  The value is
converted with ``str()`` if the containing string is an 8-bit string,
or with ``unicode()`` if it is a Unicode string.

1.  A Python identifier optionally followed by any number of
    trailers, where a trailer consists of:
    - a dot and an identifier,
    - an expression enclosed in square brackets, or
    - an argument list enclosed in parentheses
    (This is exactly the pattern expressed in the Python grammar
    by "``NAME trailer*``", using the definitions in ``Grammar/Grammar``.)

2.  Any complete Python expression enclosed in curly braces.

Two dollar-signs ("$$") are replaced with a single "$".


Examples
========

Here is an example of an interactive session exhibiting the
expected behaviour of this feature. ::

   >>> a, b = 5, 6
   >>> print $'a = $a, b = $b'
   a = 5, b = 6
   >>> $u'uni${a}ode'
   u'uni5ode'
   >>> print $'\$a'
   5
   >>> print $r'\$a'
   \5
   >>> print $'$$$a.$b'
   $5.6
   >>> print $'a + b = ${a + b}'
   a + b = 11
   >>> import sys
   >>> print $'References to $a: $sys.getrefcount(a)'
   References to 5: 15
   >>> print $"sys = $sys, sys = $sys.modules['sys']"
   sys = <module 'sys' (built-in)>, sys = <module 'sys' (built-in)>
   >>> print $'BDFL = $sys.copyright.split()[4].upper()'
   BDFL = GUIDO


Discussion
==========

'$' is chosen as the interpolation character within the
string for the sake of familiarity, since it is already used
for this purpose in many other languages and contexts.

It is then natural to choose '$' as a prefix, since it is a
mnemonic for the interpolation character.

Trailers are permitted to give this interpolation mechanism
even more power than the interpolation available in most other
languages, while the expression to be interpolated remains
clearly visible and free of curly braces.

'$' works like an operator and could be implemented as an
operator, but that prevents the compile-time optimization
and presents security issues.  So, it is only allowed as a
string prefix.


Security Issues
===============

"$" has the power to eval, but only to eval a literal.  As
described here (a string prefix rather than an operator), it
introduces no new security issues since the expressions to be
evaluated must be literally present in the code.


Implementation
==============

The ``Itpl`` module at [1]_ provides a
prototype of this feature.  It uses the ``tokenize`` module to find
the end of an expression to be interpolated, then calls ``eval()``
on the expression each time a value is needed.  In the prototype,
the expression is parsed and compiled again each time it is
evaluated.

As an optimization, interpolated strings could be compiled
directly into the corresponding bytecode; that is, ::

   $'a = $a, b = $b'

could be compiled as though it were the expression ::

   ('a = ' + str(a) + ', b = ' + str(b))

so that it only needs to be compiled once.


References
==========

.. [1] http://www.lfw.org/python/Itpl.py