Python repr() Function

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The Python repr() function is used to obtain a string representation of an object.

This function is useful for debugging and logging purposes as it provides a detailed and clear representation of an object compared to the str() function. While str() is mainly used to create human-readable strings, repr() provides a string that, when passed to the eval() function, can recreate the original object.

Syntax

Following is the syntax of Python repr() function −

repr(x)

Parameters

This function takes an object 'x' as a parameter for which you want to obtain the string representation.

Return Value

This function returns a string that, when executed as Python code, would recreate the original object.

Example 1

In the following example, we are using the repr() function to obtain the string representation of the string object "Hello, World!" −

text = "Hello, World!"
representation = repr(text)
print('The string representation obtained is:',representation)

Output

Following is the output of the above code −

The string representation obtained is: 'Hello, World!'

Example 2

Here, we are using the repr() function to obtain the string representation of an integer object "42" −

number = 42
representation = repr(number)
print('The string representation obtained is:',representation)

Output

Output of the above code is as follows −

The string representation obtained is: 42

Example 3

In here, we are obtaining the string representation of the list "[1, 2, 3]". The output is a string that, when used in Python code, would recreate the original list −

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
representation = repr(my_list)
print('The string representation obtained is:',representation)

Output

The result obtained is as shown below −

The string representation obtained is: [1, 2, 3]

Example 4

In this case, the repr() function is used with a complex number "(2+3j)" −

complex_num = complex(2, 3)
representation = repr(complex_num)
print('The string representation obtained is:',representation)

Output

Following is the output of the above code −

The string representation obtained is: (2+3j)

Example 5

In this example, we define a custom class called "Point" with "x" and "y" attributes to represent coordinates. Additionally, we implement a "repr" method within the class to customize the string representation. Afterward, we create an instance of the class named "point_instance" with coordinates "(1, 2)". By using the repr() function, we obtain the formatted string "Point(1, 2)" representing the coordinates of the point −

class Point:
   def __init__(self, x, y):
      self.x = x
      self.y = y
   def __repr__(self):
      return f'Point({self.x}, {self.y})'
point_instance = Point(1, 2)
representation = repr(point_instance)
print('The string representation obtained is:',representation)

Output

The result produced is as follows −

The string representation obtained is: Point(1, 2)