How to Fix – NameError: name ‘string’ is not defined

If you are a Python developer, you might have encountered the error message “NameError: name ‘string’ is not defined” at some point in your coding journey. This error occurs when you try to use the string module in your code, but Python cannot find it.

In this tutorial, we will discuss the common causes of this error and how to fix it.

Why does the NameError: name 'string' is not defined error occur?

This error occurs when you try to use the string module in your Python code, but Python cannot find the string module in its namespace. The following are some of the scenarios in which this error usually occurs.

1. You have not imported the string module.
2. You have imported the string module using a different name.

How to fix the NameError: name 'string' is not defined?

The string module in Python provides a collection of constants and functions that are commonly used in string manipulation. Some of the commonly used constants in the string module include ascii_letters, digits, hexdigits, octdigits, printable, punctuation, and whitespace. These constants can be used to filter or manipulate strings based on specific criteria. The string module also provides functions for formatting strings (format()), converting strings to different cases (capitalize(), lower(), upper(), etc.), and more.

Since this module is part of the Python Standard Library, you don’t need to separately install it. You can simply import it and start using it.

Let’s now look at the above scenarios that may result into the above error in detail.

The string module is not imported

It can happen that you are trying to use the string module without even importing it. This is because Python does not recognize the string library and its functions until it is imported into the code.

For example, let’s try to use the string module without importing it and see what we get.

give an example of using the string module in python

# note that string is not imported

# get all string punctuations
print(string.punctuation)

Output:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NameError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)

Cell In[1], line 4
      1 # note that string is not imported
      2 
      3 # get all string punctuations
----> 4 print(string.punctuation)

NameError: name 'string' is not defined

We get a NameError stating that the name string is not defined. To use the string library, you need to import it first.

import string

# get all string punctuations
print(string.punctuation)

Output:

!"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[]^_`{|}~

Here, we are importing the string module first and then using it to print the punctuation characters using the string.punctuation constant. You can see that we did not get any errors here.

The string module is imported using a different name

If you import the string module using a different name, for example import string as s, and then try to use the name “string” to use it, you will get a NameError because the name “string” is not defined in your current namespace.

Let’s look at an example.

import string as s

# get all string punctuations
print(string.punctuation)

Output:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NameError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)

Cell In[1], line 4
      1 import string as s
      3 # get all string punctuations
----> 4 print(string.punctuation)

NameError: name 'string' is not defined

We get a NameError: name 'string' is not defined. This is because we have imported the string module with the name s but we’re trying to use it using the name string.

To fix this error, you can either access string using the name that you have used in the import statement or import string without an alias. Note that generally, the convention is to import the string module without any aliases.

Conclusion

In conclusion, encountering a NameError: name 'string' is not defined error can be frustrating, but it is a common issue that can be easily fixed. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you should now have a better understanding of what causes this error and how to resolve it. Remember to always check your code for typos and syntax errors, and to import any necessary modules before using them in your code. With these tips in mind, you should be able to tackle any NameError errors that come your way.

You might also be interested in –

• How to Fix – NameError: name ‘json’ is not defined
• Replace Single Quotes with Double Quotes in a Python String
• Swap the Case of a Python String with the swapcase() method