Python Wildcard String Search: How to Use Wildcards in Python

Introduction

When it comes to searching for strings in Python, sometimes we may need to use wildcards to match any character or set of characters. This is where wildcard string search comes in handy. In this article, we will learn how to use wildcards in Python for string search.

Using the Asterisk (*) Wildcard

The asterisk (*) is a wildcard that matches any sequence of characters. To use it for string search in Python, we can use the "in" keyword with the string we want to search and the search pattern with the asterisk wildcard.

string = "Hello World"
if "World" in string:
    print("Found")
if "*World" in string:
    print("Not Found")
if "Hello*" in string:
    print("Found")

In the above example, the first "if" statement will print "Found" as the exact string "World" is present in the "string" variable. The second "if" statement will print "Not Found" as the search pattern "*World" is not present in the "string" variable. The third "if" statement will print "Found" as the search pattern "Hello*" matches the starting sequence of the "string" variable.

Using the Question Mark (?) Wildcard

The question mark (?) is a wildcard that matches any single character. To use it for string search in Python, we can replace the character we want to match with the question mark wildcard.

string = "Hello World"
if "H?llo" in string:
    print("Found")
if "He??o" in string:
    print("Not Found")
if "?e??o" in string:
    print("Found")

In the above example, the first "if" statement will print "Found" as the search pattern "H?llo" matches the "Hello" sequence in the "string" variable where the "?" matches the "e" character. The second "if" statement will print "Not Found" as the search pattern "He??o" does not match any sequence in the "string" variable. The third "if" statement will print "Found" as the search pattern "?e??o" matches the "Hello" sequence in the "string" variable where the "?" matches the "H" and "o" characters.

Conclusion

Wildcard string search can be very useful in Python when we need to match any character or set of characters. By using the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) wildcards, we can easily search for strings with varying patterns.