If you are new to Python programming language and are learning the basics, you might have come across SyntaxError a lot. SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation character is also a type of SyntaxError that occurs because of various reasons. In this short article, we will go through various reasons for getting this error and possible solutions as well. Moreover, we will also discuss how to interpret errors in Python and understand them as a beginner.
Solve SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation character
Errors are annoying, especially when you are a new programmer. Usually, beginners face, SyntaxErrors a lot. A syntax error is a type of error that occurs when you write code incorrectly. Syntax errors are similar to grammatical errors in any speaking language.
SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation character error can occur because of various reasons. Here, we will go through some of the causes and will solve them. If you are getting the error because of any of those reasons, you can easily solve it. Even if you are getting the error because of some other reasons, still this article will help you to understand and figure out the error in your program.
Case-1: Line breaker inside the print statement
We know that the \n character in python is used to break a line. Sometimes, we use it incorrectly to face the unexpected character after continuation character error.
For example, let us say that we want to print a statement and then want the next print to have a line break.
# printing
print("Bashir Alam", \n) File "/tmp/ipykernel_352746/1558351124.py", line 2
print("Bashir Alam", \n)
^
SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation characterIf you are using the line breaker in a similar way, then it is the incorrect way of using it. The correct way of using it is as follows:
# printing
print("Bashir Alam \n")Bashir AlamRemember that the line break should be inside the quotation marks. If you will write the line breaker outside the quotation marks, you will get the SyntaxError as shown above.
Case-2: Incorrect division
Another big mistake people make is while dividing two numbers. Sometimes, we use incorrect operators for the division and face SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation character error.
For example, consider the following mistake in the division of two numbers:
# dividing two numbers
num = 123 \32
# printing the value
print(num) File "/tmp/ipykernel_352746/3245334557.py", line 2
num = 123 \32
^
SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation characterYou might be thinking that you are doing everything correctly but still getting this error. Actually, we are making a big mistake. We are using the incorrect operator for the division. The correct operator is given in the following example:
# dividing two numbers
num = 123 / 32
# printing the value
print(num)3.84375As you can see, this time we got an answer because we used the correct division operator.
Case-3: Using a long print statement
Sometimes when you use a long print statement, then it becomes difficult to figure out where the actual problem is. See the following example:
length = 10
print("Length between sides: " + str((length * length) * 2.6) + " \ 1.5 = " + str(((length * length) * 2.6) \ 1.5) + " Units")
The error is again because of using the incorrect division operator. The correct way is:
length = 10
print("Length between sides: " + str((length * length) * 2.6) + " /1.5 = " + str(((length * length) * 2.6) / 1.5) + " Units")Length between sides: 260.0 /1.5 = 173.33333333333334 UnitsAs you can see, now we got an answer without getting any error.
Case-4: Opening a file
Sometimes, we also get errors because of providing an incorrect file path while opening a file. For example, see the following example:
# opening the file
f = open(C\\python\\temp\\file.txt,"r")
lines = f.readlines() File "/tmp/ipykernel_352746/3367201148.py", line 2
f = open(C\\python\\temp\\file.txt,"r")
^
SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation characterThe error occurs because we didn’t have used quotation marks around the path. Also, we need to use the colons while giving the full path.
# opening the file
f = open("C:\\python\\temp\\file.txt","r")
lines = f.readlines()This will now open the file.
SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation character – Understanding
The error has two main parts. The first part of the error shows the category which in this case is the SyntaxError. The second part of the error gives more specific information regarding the error. In this case, it shows what kind of syntax error we are making in our program. It is clear that we are trying to use some unexpected character after the line continuation operator.
What is a line continuation character in Python?
The forward slash in Python is used as a line continuation character in Python. Anything that comes after the forward slash will be escaped. There are some special characters that come after forward slash that have special meanings.
- \n: represents the line break
- \t: represents tap (4 spaces)
Let us take examples of each to understand them:
# printing
print("Bashir \nAlam")Bashir
AlamAs you can see, after the \n operator, there is a line break. Now let us take the example of \t to see how it works:
# printing
print("Bashir \tAlam")Bashir AlamHopefully, these examples will help you to understand the concept of using \.
Summary
In this short article, we discussed the reasons for getting SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation character error. The error occurs when we used some unexcepted characters after the line continuation operation or use the wrong operator for division. Moreover, we also covered how to understand SyntaxError: unexpected character after line continuation character error as well:
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