use re module import re template = '^My name is alex' astring = 'My name is alex, and I like pie' if re.match(template, astring): print 'Found it' else: print '%s does not begin with %s' % (astring, template)
good luck. Edwin -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alexnb Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 11:40 AM To: python-list@python.org Subject: Testing for the first few letters of a string Okay, I have a fix for this problem, but it is messy and I think there might be a better way. Heres an example: Lets say I have a string: "My name is alex" and I have another string "My name is alex, and I like pie". I want to test to see if just the "My name is alex" part is there. I don't care about the pie part. My first instinct was to just create a for loop and test for the string like this: n = 0 for x in string1: if string1[n] == string2[n] n = n +0 else: break and then later testing to see what n was = to and figuring out if it got through the whole loop. I feel like there should be an easier way to do this, and probably is. So Does anyone have a suggestion? -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Testing-for-the-first-few-letters-of-a-string-tp18873375p18873375.html Sent from the Python - python-list mailing list archive at Nabble.com. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list The information contained in this message and any attachment may be proprietary, confidential, and privileged or subject to the work product doctrine and thus protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to this message and deleting it and all copies and backups thereof. Thank you. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list