String slicing in Python allows you to extract a portion (substring) of a string using a simple and powerful syntax. This is especially useful when you want to manipulate or analyze parts of a string.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn:

• What string slicing is
• How to use slicing syntax
• Common slicing patterns
• Real-world examples

What is String Slicing?

Slicing means extracting a subset of a sequence (like a string, list, or tuple). In Python, strings are zero-indexed arrays of characters. You can slice strings using bracket notation and a colon (:).

 Basic Syntax:

string[start:stop]

• start: Index where the slice starts (inclusive)
• stop: Index where the slice ends (exclusive)
• If omitted, Python assumes the start is 0, and the end is the length of the string.

Basic String Slicing Examples

text = "Python Programming"

print(text[0:6])   # Output: Python
print(text[7:18])  # Output: Programming

Omitting Start or End

You can omit start or stop to slice from beginning or to the end:

text = "Hello, World!"

print(text[:5])   # Output: Hello (start from index 0)
print(text[7:])   # Output: World!

Negative Indexing

Negative numbers count from the end of the string:

text = "Python"

print(text[-3:])   # Output: hon (last 3 characters)
print(text[:-3])   # Output: Pyt (everything except last 3)

Slicing with Step Value

You can add a step to control how many characters to skip:

text = "abcdef"

print(text[::2])   # Output: ace (every 2nd character)
print(text[1::2])  # Output: bdf (starting from index 1)

Syntax with step:

string[start:stop:step]

Reversing a String Using Slicing

One of the most elegant tricks in Python:

text = "Python"
reversed_text = text[::-1]
print(reversed_text)  # Output: nohtyP

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Extracting a file extension

filename = "document.pdf"
extension = filename[-3:]
print(extension)  # Output: pdf

Example 2: Get the first name from a full name

fullname = "John Doe"
first_name = fullname[:4]
print(first_name)  # Output: John

Tips & Notes

• Indexes start at 0.
• The stop index is not included in the result.
• You can combine positive and negative indexes.
• Slicing returns a new string; it does not modify the original.

 Summary Table