Adding values inside function to an empty string outside of a function

Question

empty_string = ''
string_1 = 'beta'

def sample(x):
    empty_string = empty_string + 'alpha'
    return x

why doesn't:

empty_string = 'alpha'

i'm confused why empty_string is still empty after i add to it in the function

@Ashwini's answer is good, however, it's usually better to make string functions return a new string, and the caller can update variables if they want. So def alphaize(s): return s + 'alpha' and then outside the function empty_string = alphaize('foo'). — Ben Hoyt
– Ben Hoyt, Commented Sep 24, 2012 at 21:38

Ashwini Chaudhary · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-24 21:18:21Z

5

use global empty_string inside function, then only you can modify a global variable:

def sample(x):
    global empty_string
    empty_string = empty_string + 'alpha'
    return x

answered Sep 24, 2012 at 21:18

Ashwini Chaudhary

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