Python string has a character that is present in Linux but missing in Windows

Question

This is the first question I'm posting so please pardon my ignorance. I am using python to write into files and then read them. Using the usual suspects (file.read(), file.write())

The code is being run on both windows and Linux. A particular string I'm reading, say str is giving a length of 6 on Windows, while it is giving a length of 7 on Linux. I tried exploring what this magic character is but it turns out I cant print it! If i try printing str, it gives the same results on Windows and Linux. If i try printing str[6] on Linux, it prints blank!

I have verified that it is not a whitespace or newline(\n) character. I am even unable to print the ascii value of this character. Are there characters out there without ascii values?

I have found that strip() function eliminates this magic character but I am still curious as to what it is.

Try repr() on it. You will maybe see \r in Linux, but not in Windows. — falsetru
– falsetru, Commented Aug 17, 2014 at 7:03
What error do you have at print(ord(char))? (I hope you take care of bytes/unicode/string problem, right?) — cox
– cox, Commented Aug 17, 2014 at 9:54

Elliott Frisch · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-17 07:04:37Z

1

In Windows, newline is "\r\n", while on Linux it is "\n". This is why there is a character count discrepancy.

answered Aug 17, 2014 at 7:04

Elliott Frisch

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