Difference between '?' and 'help()'

Question

What is the difference between ‘?’ and ‘help()’ in Python Jupyter Notebooks. E.g.

import scipy
help(scipy)
?scipy

Asked By: shenflow

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Source

Answer 1

In Python, the ? symbol is used to display the documentation string of an object, while the help() function is used to display the documentation for a module, function, or object.

Here is an example of how to use these two methods in Python:

>>> x = [1, 2, 3]

>>> x?
Type:        list
String form: [1, 2, 3]
Length:      3
Docstring:  
Built-in mutable sequence.

>>> help(list)
Help on class list in module builtins:

class list(object)
    list() -> new empty list
    list(iterable) -> new list initialized from iterable's items
    
    Methods defined here:
    
    __add__(self, value, /)
        Return self+value.
    
    __contains__(self, key, /)
        Return key in self.
    
    __delitem__(self, key, /)
        Delete self[key].

Answered By: user2804447

Answer 2

Documentations are always a good place to start. 🙂

So, ? which is a magic, is equivalent to %pinfo as specified in the IPython docs.

Whereas help() is a built-in Python function that returns the documentation associated with a Python Object.

#p.s. Jupyter uses an IPython (or Interactive Python) kernel, which supports the magics.

Answered By: mrNobody

Difference between '?' and 'help()'

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