Even the best developers make syntax errors all the time when they\u2019re coding. Programming languages have so many rules and even one typo can cause an error.
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If you\u2019ve encountered the error \u201csyntaxerror: EOL while scanning string literal\u201d, don\u2019t worry. In this guide, we\u2019re going to talk about what this error means and how to solve it. We\u2019ll walk through a few example scenarios to help you identify potential causes and solutions.
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Let\u2019s begin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syntax is like the grammar of a programming language. English has rules that govern punctuation and spelling; programming languages have similar rules.
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Let\u2019s take a look at our error: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
syntaxerror: EOL while scanning string literal<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe SyntaxError message tells us that we\u2019ve not followed the syntax rules of Python<\/a>.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe description of the error indicates that Python is expecting a particular character to appear by the end of a line of code that was not found. For instance, Python may be expecting a string<\/a> close (\u201d) character by the end of a line in which you have opened a string.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf a syntax error is encountered, Python stops executing a program. This is because the Python interpreter needs you to rectify the issue before it can read the rest of your code.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis error is commonly caused by:
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- Strings that span multiple lines using the wrong syntax<\/li>
- Missing quotation marks<\/li>
- Mismatching quotation marks<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Example Scenario: Multi-line Strings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In Python, strings can span multiple lines. The syntax for a multi-line string is different to that of a traditional string. Multi-line strings must be triple quoted, or written using three quotation marks.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s take a look at a multi-line string:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
def welcome_hero():\n\tmessage = "Welcome, Hero!\nYou have just entered the Castle of Doom. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to locate the Sacred Emerald and take it back to the travelling salesman."\n\tprint(message)\n\nwelcome_hero()<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe have defined a function<\/a> called
welcome_hero()<\/code>. This function prints a message to the console. This message is assigned to the variable<\/a> \u201cmessage\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s try to run our code:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
File "main.py", line 2\n\tmessage = "Welcome, Hero!\n \t^\nSyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\nAn error is returned. This is because a string using single or double quotes cannot span multiple lines. To solve this problem, we need to enclose our string with three single or double quotes. Any text that appears between these characters will be part of the string:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
message = """Welcome, Hero!\nYou have just entered the Castle of Doom. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to locate the Sacred Emerald and take it back to the travelling salesman."""<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s try to run our code with this revised line. Our code returns:
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWelcome, Hero!\nYou have just entered the Castle of Doom. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to locate the Sacred Emerald and take it back to the travelling salesman.<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\nSuccess! Our code prints the message without an error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example Scenario: Missing Quotation Mark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n