str(x) gives a readable end-user output of an object, for example str(x) is used by the command print()
repr(x) is an more exact and informative output (representation) useful for debugging. If __repr__ is not defined, Python gives the type and memory as default output.
For many objects str(x) and repr(x) give (almost) the same output.
import datetime
today = datetime.datetime.now()
# print() shows the same as str() except of the quotation marks
print(today)
2022-11-14 10:50:01.046192
# repr() gives a representation that can be computational analyzed
str(today)
'2022-11-14 10:50:01.046192'
repr(today)
'datetime.datetime(2022, 11, 14, 10, 50, 1, 46192)'
# ideally, repr() gives all information in form of valid code to reconstruct the object: eval(repr(x))==x
datetime.datetime(2022, 11, 14, 10, 50, 1, 46192)
datetime.datetime(2022, 11, 14, 10, 50, 1, 46192)
eval('datetime.datetime(2022, 11, 14, 10, 50, 1, 46192)')
datetime.datetime(2022, 11, 14, 10, 50, 1, 46192)
# repr() can be helpful for debugging or logging as it provides more detailed information than print()
try:
x=10/0
except ( FloatingPointError, ZeroDivisionError ) as err:
print(err)
division by zero
try:
x=10/0
except ( FloatingPointError, ZeroDivisionError ) as err:
repr(err)
"ZeroDivisionError('division by zero',)"
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19331404/str-vs-repr-functions-in-python-2-7-5