How to Use ‘b’ in Front of String in Python?

In Python, manipulation of strings is one of the most valuable features. This is a powerful feature that can help you work with binary data and other types of data that are not supported by regular strings.

The prefix “b” is used in front of the string such as (b‘Hello Python’) to specify/represent the byte string.

This post provides a thorough guide on the use and working of specific “b” characters in front of a string using the following contents:

  • How to Use the b in Front of String in Python?
    • Using ‘b’ Character With Strings
    • Convert Byte Object to String
    • Convert String to Byte

How to Use the b in Front of String in Python?

The ‘b’ character specifies a string as a ‘byte string’ in Python. Consider the following example:

byte_str = b'Hey I am a Joseph'

The above example specifies that the variable “byte_str” is a byte string object, not a string object. The difference between strings and byte strings is that strings are sequences of Unicode characters, whereas byte strings are sequences of octets.

Now, let’s have a look at the given below examples to understand the working/usage of the character  “b” in front of the string:

Example 1: Using the ‘b’ Character With Strings

The specific character “b” is used as a prefix before the string in the below code:

Code: 

string_value = b"Welcome to itslinuxfoss"
print(string_value)
print(type(string_value))
  • The byte string is created by placing the character “b” at the start of string literal.
  • The character “b” before the string indicates that it is a bytes object.
  • The “type()” function is used to check the type of the given variable.

Output:

The byte string has been displayed.

Example 2: Convert Byte Object to String

The following example code is used to convert a byte object into a string:

Code:

byte_obj = b"Welcome to itslinuxfoss"
string_value = byte_obj.decode('ASCII')
print(string_value)
print(type(string_value))
  • The byte string is initialized by using the charter “b” at the start of the string.
  • The “decode()” function accepts the ASCII encoding as an argument and decodes the byte string into a string.

Output:

The given byte has been converted into a string.

Example 3: Convert String to Byte

The below code is used to convert a string into byte:

Code:

string_value = "Welcome to itslinuxfoss"
byte_obj = string_value.encode()
print(byte_obj)
print(type(byte_obj))
  • The string value is initialized.
  • The “encode()” function encodes the input string into a byte string.

Output:

The input string has been converted into a bytes object.

Conclusion

The specific character “b” is used in front of a string or as a prefix to indicate that the initialized string is a bytes string object, not a normal string object. The byte string object is converted into a string by using the “decode()” function and ASCII encoding as a parameter. Similarly, to convert string object to byte string object the prefix b or “encode()” function is used in Python. This Python blog presented an in-depth guide on the “b” character in front of a string in Python.