This tutorial demonstrates the reasons and ways to fix the Syntax Error raised while scanning the string literals. Have you ever experienced the following error when trying to write in some other programming language: “EOL while scanning string literal”? It usually occurs when a programmer forgets to enclose string literals within inverted commas or double quotation marks when writing a source code. Check your syntax and make sure you have a single/double-quoted string literal. If you have multiple strings on multiple lines or if you have missing or mismatching quotes, it will raise a string literal – EOL SyntaxError.
*Working on Jupyter notebook → Anaconda environment Python version 3.0 +
What is string literal in Python?
String literals are one of the most common things you will use in your Python programs. They allow you to create strings that are known only by the interpreter. You can pass string data to functions and store values in variables using string literals.
Strings in Python are sequences of characters. In Python, string literal holds the string data within single or double opening and closing (‘’ or "")quotation marks.
For example, string_v=’Python SyntaxError EOL’ is a string literal and can be written as “Python SyntaxError EOL”. Where string_v is a string variable that holds a sequence of the character’s content.
How to fix SyntaxError – EOL?
Some of the reasons due to which SyntaxError – EOL arises are given below along with their solutions.
When a string quotes are not properly closed
The Syntax error message “EOL while scanning string literal” occurs when Python encounters a string that has not been properly closed with a quotation mark.
In the following code example, the string str_variable is not properly closed with a quotation mark, and Python is unable to parse the code and generate the desired output.
# When a string quotes are not properly closed
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning string literal
File "C:\Users\aimen\AppData\Local\Temp/ipykernel_6752/1796855297.py", line 2
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning string literal
^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literalTo fix EOL while scanning string literal Syntax error, you need to add a closing quotation mark to the end of the string. When you add the closing quotation mark, the error will get resolved.
# When a string quotes are not properly closed
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning string literal'
str_variable
'EOL while scanning string literal'Use triple quotes for strings that extend to multiple lines
If your string spans multiple lines, enclose it in triple quotes to fix SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal
the INcorrect way of using string literal
# Incorrect
vari_string = 'This is a string that
spans multiple lines'
File "C:\Users\aimen\AppData\Local\Temp/ipykernel_6752/4170867380.py", line 2
vari_string = 'This is a string that
^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literalthe correct way of using string literal
# Correct
vari_string = '''This is a string that
spans multiple lines fix by triple quotation mark'''
print(vari_string)
'This is a string that
spans multiple lines fix by triple quotation mark'What is a SyntaxError in Python?
In Python, a SyntaxError is an error that occurs when you have written syntactically incorrect code, and Python cannot execute it. However, When a SyntaxError is raised, Python prints a message depicting the error’s nature and location in the code.
SyntaxErrors can occur for a few reasons, including:
- Brackets, quotes, or parentheses that don’t match
- Mismatching or extra commas, colons, or semicolons
- Incorrect indentation
- Keyword misuse
- Using incorrect expressions or statements
- string literals errors due to incorrect use of quotation marks
This article covers the particular syntax error which arises while scanning string literal.
Reasons which can arise Python SyntaxError
When Spanning Multiple Lines
When a string extends to multiple lines, you need to use either triple single quotes (' ' ') or triple-double quotes (" " ") to define the string to fix the EOL string literal SyntaxError. In the following example, the string is not properly defined because it spans multiple lines and is enclosed in single\double quotes, which raises a syntax error.
# When Spanning Multiple Lines
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning
string literal'
str_variable
File "C:\Users\aimen\AppData\Local\Temp/ipykernel_6752/1070213463.py", line 2
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning
^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literalTo fix this error, you can use triple single quotes or triple double quotes to define the string as depicted in the following example code.
# Correct
vari_string = '''This is a string that
spans multiple lines fix by triple quotation mark'''
print(vari_string)
This is a string that
spans multiple lines fix by triple quotation markOr like this;
# Correct
vari_string = """EOL while scanning
string literal"""
print(vari_string)
EOL while scanning
string literalNote that when you print the string, the newline character \n will be included in the output, resulting in the string being printed on multiple lines.
Otherwise, it displays the following results
# Correct
vari_string = '''This is a string that
spans multiple lines fix by triple quotation mark'''
(vari_string)
'This is a string that\nspans multiple lines fix by triple quotation mark'It includes the escape sequence \n, which represents a newline character in the output. If you want to print the string with the newline character included, you can simply print the string variable using the print() command; it will include the newline character \n in the output.
With backslash escaping character, you can resolve strings that span multiple lines
A backslash \ at the end of a line to indicate that the string continues on the next line. This is known as an escape character.
In the following example, the string str_variable includes a backslash \ at the end of the first line, followed by two blank lines, and then the string continues on the third line. However, it defines a string that spans multiple lines but with the line breaks removed.
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning \
\
string literal'
str_variable
'EOL while scanning string literal'Pen Down that the two blank lines in the string are ignored, and the string is printed on a single line.
Mismatched Quotes
The string starts with a single quote but ends with a double quote, which causes a syntax error -EOL or vice versa.
#Using Mismatched Quotes
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning string literal"
str_variable
File "C:\Users\aimen\AppData\Local\Temp/ipykernel_6752/3663718639.py", line 2
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning string literal"
^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literalTo fix this error, you need to use matching quotes to define the string. You can either use single quotes throughout the string, or you can use double quotes throughout the string.
# correct solution to fix error raised by Mismatched Quotes
str_variable = 'EOL while scanning string literal'
str_variable
'EOL while scanning string literal'Handling string literal – EOL SyntaxError when accessing a file from a directory
When importing a CSV file from the directory, there is an error in the read_csv() function invokes. The string literal - EOL SyntaxError may arise because the path to the CSV file is not properly formatted.
In the following example code, the path is missing a closing quote at the end of the path.
# import pandas library in Python script
import pandas as pan
#load data set
data_set = pan.read_csv(r"D:\DATA_SCIENCE\python\ICC MEN'S CRICKET WORLD CUP HIGH SCORES.csv)
File "C:\Users\aimen\AppData\Local\Temp/ipykernel_9312/2344722138.py", line 4
data_set = pan.read_csv(r"D:\DATA_SCIENCE\python\ICC MEN'S CRICKET WORLD CUP HIGH SCORES.csv)
^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literalTo fix this error, you need to add a closing quote at the end of the file path. However, when you append the closing quote, the error resolved, and you can be able to load the CSV file using the read_csv() function from Panda’s library.
# import pandas library in Python script
import pandas as pan
#load data set
data_set = pan.read_csv(r"D:\DATA_SCIENCE\python\ICC MEN'S CRICKET WORLD CUP HIGH SCORES.csv")
Conclusion
This tutorial covers the causes and imperative reasons behind the issues that arise from the SyntaxError - EOL while scanning string literal Python Script and covers a solution to fix the SyntaxError – EOL. Hopefully, this article finds you worthy when searching for the best solution for EOL errors.