Like most coders, I regularly consult a search engine—yeah, as if there were many good options ;)—to learn about parameter lists of specific Python functions. If you truly stand on the shoulders of giants, and leverage the powerful Python libraries developed by some of the best coders in the world, studying the API of existing functions should be an elementary chunk of your daily coding work.
Python’s built-in help() function launches Python’s help system. Without an argument, help() starts an interactive session. With a string argument, help(name) looks up the name and prints a help page to the shell. With a non-string argument, help(object) prints a help page on object.
>>> help(list) # Prints the documentation of list
>>> help(dict) # Prints the documentation of dict
>>> help(int) # Prints the documentation of int
>>> help('help') # Prints the documentation of help()
>>> help() # Opens an interactive "help" sessionSyntax help()
The help() object has the following syntax:
Syntax:help() # Opens an interactive help session to explore multiple objectshelp(string) # Looks up the name and prints a help page to the shellhelp(object) #Prints a help page on object
| Arguments | object | Optional. If given, prints a help page on the object. If it’s a string, it looks up the mapping name –> object and prints the help page on the object. If not given, opens an interactive help session. |
| Return Value | None | Returns None. |
Return Value help()
The help(object) function returns None.
Example help() without Argument
Without an argument, help() starts an interactive session.
>>> help()
Welcome to Python 3.7's help utility!
If this is your first time using Python, you should definitely check out
the tutorial on the Internet at https://docs.python.org/3.7/tutorial/.
Enter the name of any module, keyword, or topic to get help on writing
Python programs and using Python modules. To quit this help utility and
return to the interpreter, just type "quit".
To get a list of available modules, keywords, symbols, or topics, type
"modules", "keywords", "symbols", or "topics". Each module also comes
with a one-line summary of what it does; to list the modules whose name
or summary contain a given string such as "spam", type "modules spam".
help> string
Help on module string:
NAME
string - A collection of string constants.
DESCRIPTION
Public module variables:
In this example, you created the interactive help session and passed the name string (which is an object) within the session. Python then prints the associated documentation. You can close the interactive help session by hitting CTRL + C or type quit, followed by hitting enter.
Example help() with String Argument
With a string argument, help(name) looks up the name and prints a help page to the shell.
>>> help('help')
Help on module help:
NAME
help
DESCRIPTION
help.py: Implement the Idle help menu.
Contents are subject to revision at any time, without notice.
...You may ask: where does Python look up the objects associated to each string value?
The answer is simple: with the help of namespaces, it looks up names of modules, functions, methods, variables in the Python paths. Given the name, it can then get the associated objects from the memory mapping—each name points to an object in memory.
You can read more in our full tutorials:
Example help() with Object Argument
With a non-string argument, help(object) prints a help page on object.
>>> help(print)
Help on built-in function print in module builtins:
print(...)
print(value, ..., sep=' ', end='\n', file=sys.stdout, flush=False)
Prints the values to a stream, or to sys.stdout by default.
Optional keyword arguments:
file: a file-like object (stream); defaults to the current sys.stdout.
sep: string inserted between values, default a space.
end: string appended after the last value, default a newline.
flush: whether to forcibly flush the stream.The passed function object associated to the print name also works as an input for the help() function. In this case, no look up is needed—but the documentation of the passed object is printed right away.
Python help() Function Docstring
Python’s help(object) function returns the docstring associated to the object. The docstring is a string that follows immediately after the definition of a module, function, method, or object.
Here’s an example of defining a function add() with a docstring:
def add(a, b):
'''Calculates a+b and returns the sum.'''
return a+b
And here’s how you can access this in your code via the help(add) function call:
>>> help(add)
Help on function add in module __main__:
add(a, b)
Calculates a+b and returns the sum.This way, you can write your own documentation and provide other coders access to your helpful insights when writing code snippets.
Python help() Function on Custom Class
You can also call the help() function on classes. Python will then show you the available methods and their docstrings. Here’s an example:
class Car:
'''Representing cool cars'''
def __init__(self, brand, color):
'''Creates a new car with a brand and color'''
self.brand = brand
self.color = color
def speed():
'''Returns the speed of the car given brand'''
if self.brand == 'porsche':
return 150
return 100
Each method and the class itself has a docstring. The output when calling the help() function on the class Car is the following:
>>> help(Car) Help on class Car in module __main__: class Car(builtins.object) | Car(brand, color) | | Representing cool cars | | Methods defined here: | | __init__(self, brand, color) | Creates a new car with a brand and color | | speed() | Returns the speed of the car given brand | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Data descriptors defined here: | | __dict__ | dictionary for instance variables (if defined) | | __weakref__ | list of weak references to the object (if defined)
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Summary
Python’s built-in help() function launches Python’s help system.
- Without an argument,
help()starts an interactive session—see the following code snippet. - With a string argument,
help(name)looks up the name and prints a help page to the shell. - With a non-string argument,
help(object)prints a help page on object.
>>> help()
Welcome to Python 3.7's help utility!
If this is your first time using Python, you should definitely check out
the tutorial on the Internet at https://docs.python.org/3.7/tutorial/.
Enter the name of any module, keyword, or topic to get help on writing
Python programs and using Python modules. To quit this help utility and
return to the interpreter, just type "quit".
To get a list of available modules, keywords, symbols, or topics, type
"modules", "keywords", "symbols", or "topics". Each module also comes
with a one-line summary of what it does; to list the modules whose name
or summary contain a given string such as "spam", type "modules spam".
help> string
Help on module string:
NAME
string - A collection of string constants.
DESCRIPTION
Public module variables:
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Where to Go From Here?
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