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Find Index of Element in Array - Python
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Difference Between find() and index() in Python

Last Updated : 21 Nov, 2024
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Both methods are used to locate the position of a substring within a string but the major difference between find() and index() methods in Python is how they handle cases when the substring is not found. The find() method returns -1 in such cases, while index() method raises a ValueError.

Example of find()

Python 
s = "hello world"  # Finds the position of the substring "world" print(s.find("world"))  # Returns -1 when substring is not found print(s.find("python"))  # Finds the position of "o" starting from index 5 print(s.find("o", 5))

Output
6 -1 7

Explanation:

  • s.find("world") returns 6 because the substring "world" starts at index 6.
  • s.find("python") returns -1 as substring "python" is not present in string.
  • s.find("o", 5) starts the search from index 5 and finds the first occurrence of "o" at index 7.

Example of index()

Python 
s = "hello world"  # Finds position of the substring "world" print(s.index("world"))  # Raises a ValueError when substring is not found print(s.index("python"))  # Finds position of "o" starting from index 5 print(s.index("o", 5)) 
6  ERROR! Traceback (most recent call last):   File "<main.py>", line 7, in <module> ValueError: substring not found

Explanation:

  • s.index("world") returns 6 because substring "world" starts at index 6.
  • When s.index("python") is executed then it raises a ValueError as the substring "python" is not in string.
  • s.index("o", 5) starts searching from index 5 and finds the first occurrence of "o" at index 7.

When to use find() and index()?

  • Use find() when we need to check if a substring exists and do not want to handle exceptions.
  • Use index() when we are sure that the substring exists or we want an exception to be raised if it doesn't exist.

Next Article
Find Index of Element in Array - Python
author
vijayakumarchinthala
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Article Tags :
  • Strings
  • Python
  • Python Programs
  • DSA
  • python-string
  • Python-string-functions
Practice Tags :
  • python
  • Strings

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