The Foundation of Output

The print() function is your gateway to communicating with users through your Python programs. It's often the first function beginners learn, yet it harbors surprising depth and versatility.

Basic Syntax

The most basic syntax is simply print(value), where value can be any Python object. Python automatically converts the value to a string representation before displaying it.

String Literals

When printing string literals, you can use either single quotes ('') or double quotes (""). Both work identically, but using double quotes is more common in Python:

Special Characters

Print handles escape sequences naturally:

• \n - New line
• \t - Tab
• \\ - Backslash
• \' - Single quote
• \" - Double quote

Print's Return Value

The print function actually returns None. This is because its purpose is to produce output, not to compute a value.

Common Pitfalls

New programmers often encounter these common issues:

• Forgetting parentheses
• Mismatched quotes
• Incorrect string concatenation