Python lesson

Removing spaces with .str.strip()

' ada obi' becomes 'ada obi'. Invisible spaces would otherwise stop names from matching.

About 5–10 minutes · no sign-up needed

Example

This customer list has stray spaces. .str applies a text method to every value in a column at once:

df["Name"] = df["Name"].str.strip()
df

Output:

Name City Revenue
0 ada obi  lagos 70
1 TUNDE BAKARE ABUJA  15
2 grace eze abuja NaN
3 Musa Bello Kano 40
4 Musa Bello Kano 40

.strApplies a text method to every value in the column.

.str.strip()Removes the spaces at the start and end of each value.

df["Name"] = ...Store the result back in the column, or the change is lost.

Put together: df["Name"] = df["Name"].str.strip().

Try each one in your head first, then open the answer.

1. Build a line that removes the extra spaces from the Name column.

df["Name"] = df["Name"].str.strip()

2. Build a line that removes the extra spaces from the City column.

df["City"] = df["City"].str.strip()

3. Remove the extra spaces from the Name column, then show the first 2 rows.

df["Name"] = df["Name"].str.strip()
df.head(2)

4. Remove the extra spaces from the City column, then show how many different cities there are.

df["City"] = df["City"].str.strip()
df["City"].nunique()

5. Remove the extra spaces from both Name and City, one line each.

df["Name"] = df["Name"].str.strip()
df["City"] = df["City"].str.strip()

Learn it by doing. This lesson is a short hands-on level on Bampaa: see it work, then build and write it yourself, with instant feedback.

About 5–10 minutes · no sign-up needed