Syntaxerror eol while scanning string literal как исправить

Как мы знаем, такой язык программирования, как Python, является интерпретируемым языком, что, по сути, означает, что каждый блок или строка кода обрабатывается один за другим, а не полностью меняют всю программу на низкоуровневый код.

Всякий раз, когда интерпретатор Python просматривает строку кода и замечает что-то необычное, он вызывает ошибку, известную как синтаксическая ошибка. Как правило, ошибки возникают из-за отсутствия скобок, отсутствующих конечных кавычек и других фундаментальных аномалий в синтаксисе.

В данном руководстве мы рассмотрим одну из синтаксических ошибок, известную как EOL в Python, которая обычно возникает, когда мы пытаемся просканировать строковый литерал.

Мы должны эффективно понять значение EOL, прежде чем решать проблему. EOL – это сокращение от «End of Line». Ошибка EOL означает, что интерпретатор Python достиг конца строки при сканировании строкового литерала.

Строковые литералы, также известные как константы, должны быть заключены в одинарные или двойные кавычки. Достижение «конца строки» при попытке сканирования означает, что мы достигли последнего символа строки и не встретили конечные кавычки.

Давайте рассмотрим базовый пример, демонстрирующий, как возникает ошибка EOL.

Пример:

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = "This is my string literal, and it is broken... 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

  File "D:Pythonternarypy.py", line 2 
    my_string = "This is my string literal, and it is broken... 
                                                               ^ 
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы определили строковый литерал; однако мы пропустили кавычки в конце строки, что привело к синтаксической ошибке EOL при печати этой строки для пользователей.

В разделе вывода мы можем наблюдать маленькую стрелку, указывающую на последний символ строки, и демонстрирующую, что ошибка произошла, когда программа попыталась проанализировать этот сегмент оператора.

Теперь, когда мы поняли проблему, давайте разберемся в некоторых случаях, когда эта ошибка может появляться при выполнении кода Python.

«Syntax Error: EOL при сканировании строкового литерала» – как исправить

Мы можем столкнуться с этой ошибкой в четырех основных ситуациях при работе над программой Python. Эти четыре основные ситуации показаны ниже:

1. Отсутствует конечная кавычка.
2. Использование неправильной конечной кавычки.
3. Строковая константа растягивается на несколько строк.
4. Использование обратной косой черты перед конечной кавычкой.

Давайте начнем разбираться в каждой из этих ситуаций и постараемся их обойти.

Отсутствует конечная кавычка

Как обсуждалось в предыдущем фрагменте кода, интерпретатор Python выдает синтаксическую ошибку всякий раз, когда он достигает конца строкового литерала, и обнаруживает, что кавычка отсутствует.

Пример:

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = "This is my string literal, and it is broken... 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Объяснение:

Мы можем заметить, что кавычка в конце литеральной строки отсутствует, что также оправдывает синтаксическую ошибку. В каждом языке есть несколько основных правил синтаксиса, нарушение которых приводит к ошибкам.

Давайте теперь рассмотрим следующий синтаксис для решения вышеуказанной проблемы.

Решение:

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = "This is my string literal, and it is broken..." 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

String: This is my string literal, and it is broken... 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы включили кавычки в конец литеральной строки. В результате строка успешно печатается для пользователей без каких-либо синтаксических ошибок.

Использование неправильной конечной кавычки

Мы можем использовать как “”, так и ” , чтобы заключить в Python определенную строковую константу. Однако программист часто использует неправильные кавычки в конце строкового значения. В такой ситуации программа выдает синтаксическую ошибку в терминах EOL.

Рассмотрим такую ситуацию на следующем примере:

Пример:

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = "This is my string literal with wrong quotation mark at the end.' 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

  File "D:Pythonternarypy.py", line 2 
    my_string = "This is my string literal with wrong quotation mark at the end.' 
                                                                                 ^ 
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы использовали неправильную кавычку в конце строкового значения, что привело к синтаксической ошибке.

Мы можем избежать такой проблемы, используя соответствующие кавычки в конце строки, как показано в следующем фрагменте кода.

Решение:

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = "This is my string literal with wrong quotation mark at the end." 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

String: This is my string literal with wrong quotation mark at the end. 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода, как мы можем заметить, мы использовали совпадающую кавычку в конце строки, которая помогает нам избежать ошибки EOL.

Строковая константа растягивается на несколько строк

Есть разные начинающие программисты Python, которые делают ошибку, растягивая операторы более чем на одну строку. Python принимает во внимание новую строку как конец оператора, в отличие от других языков, таких как C ++ и Java, которые рассматривают ‘;’ как конец высказываний.

Давайте рассмотрим пример, демонстрирующий эту проблему.

Пример:

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = "This is my string literal... 
                this is my new line" 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

  File "D:Pythonternarypy.py", line 2 
    my_string = "This is my string literal... 
                                             ^ 
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы можем заметить, что код выглядит обычным; однако, как только начинается следующая строка, интерпретатор Python прекращает выполнение этого оператора, вызывая синтаксическую ошибку, не заключающую строковую константу.

Однако мы можем решить эту проблему, используя различные методы, как показано ниже:

Решение 1. Использование символа ‘ n’ для создания эффекта новой строки в строковой константе.

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = "This is my string literal...n this is my new line" 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

String: This is my string literal... 
 this is my new line 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы включили ‘ n’ в строковую константу, чтобы обеспечить эффект новой строки. В результате строковая константа разбивает оператор на несколько строк.

Теперь рассмотрим другое решение.

Решение 2. Использование тройных кавычек, ” ‘или “” “для хранения многострочных строковых констант.

 
# defining a string value 
my_string = """This is my string literal... 
                    this is my new line""" 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

String: This is my string literal... 
                    this is my new line 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы использовали тройные кавычки “” “для хранения многострочных строковых констант.

Использование обратной косой черты перед конечной кавычкой

Обратная косая черта ‘’ отвечает за экранирование строки и вызывает синтаксическую ошибку.

Рассмотрим следующий пример:

 
# storing a directory path 
my_string = "D:PythonMy_Folder" 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

  File "D:Pythonternarypy.py", line 2 
    my_string = "D:PythonMy_Folder" 
                                      ^ 
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы использовали обратную косую черту ‘’, чтобы отделить пути к папке друг от друга. Однако во время выполнения программы интерпретатор Python выдал синтаксическую ошибку.

Последняя обратная косая черта перед кавычкой экранирует строковую константу, и интерпретатор Python рассматривает “как одиночный символ. Эта escape-последовательность преобразуется в кавычки (“).

Мы можем решить эту проблему, используя следующий фрагмент кода.

Решение:

 
# storing a directory path 
my_string = "D:\Python\My_Folder\" 
 
# printing the string value 
print("String:", my_string) 

Выход:

String: D:PythonMy_Folder 

Объяснение:

В приведенном выше фрагменте кода мы использовали ‘\’ в строковой константе. В результате интерпретатор Python выполняет эту строку, не вызывая ошибки.

Python is widely used by many developers all around the world to create mind-blowing applications. What’s more exciting about Python is that it’s dynamically programmed. That means you don’t have to declare variable types when constructing a variable. It’s automatically selected. On top of that, error handling allows you to catch and handle multiple errors of the same type. Incomplete parenthesis, brackets, and quotes all throw different types of errors. EOL While Scanning String Literal Error is one of the errors while parsing strings in Python.

EOL While Scanning String Literal Error appears when your python code ends before ending the string quotes. In simpler terms, your string quotes are missing in the code either by human mistake or incorrect syntax mistake. As Python falls under interpreted language (which means your code is executed line by line without compiling), all the statements before the EOL errors are executed properly.

In this post, we’ll have a look at all the causes and solutions of this error. Moreover, some bonus FAQs to avoid EOL errors in the future.

What exactly is EOL While Scanning String Literal?

Without a complete grasp of a problem, it’s very difficult to debug it. In layman’s terms, EOL stands for “End Of the Line”. It means that your codes ended without completing a certain syntax end. For example, when you declare a string in Python, quotes (“) are used. At this time, if you don’t end the line with another quote (“), it’ll throw EOL While Scanning Error in the SyntaxError category.

EOL is triggered when your python interpreter has completed reading the last character of your code. In simpler words, it’s called when the file ends. Upon calling the EOL, the interpreter checks if there are incomplete string quotes, brackets, and curly brackets. If yes, then the SyntaxError is thrown.

If you are a beginner, you’ll have a hard time understanding what is string literal. The following section will help you to understand it.

What is String Literal in Python?

String literal is a set of characters enclosed between quotation marks (“). All the characters are noted as a sequence. In Python, you can declare string literals using three types, single quotation marks (‘ ‘), double quotation marks (” “), and triple quotation marks (“”” “””). Strings are arrays and their characters can be accessed by using square brackets. The following example will help you to understand String Literals.

String Literal Example

example1 = 'Single Quotes String'
example2 = "Double Quotes String"
example3 = """Triple Quotes String"""

print(example1[0]) # will print S

There are known causes for the EOL error in Python. Once you know all of them, you can easily debug your code and fix it. Although, these causes are not necessarily the only known causes for the error. Some other errors might also result in throwing EOL error. Let’s jump right into all the causes –

Cause 1: Unclosed Single Quotes

String Literals in python can be declared by using single quotes in your program. These literals need to be closed within two single quotes sign (‘ ‘). If you failed to enclose the string between these two quotes, it’ll throw EOL While Scanning String Literal Error. Moreover, if you give an extra single quote in your string it’ll also throw the same error. Following examples will help you to understand –

Example 1 –

example1 = 'Single Quotes String
example2 = "Double Quotes String"
example3 = """Triple Quotes String"""

example1[0] # will print S

In this example, there is a missing end single quote in line 1. This missing quote causes the interpreter to parse the next lines as strings that are incorrect. Adding a single quote at the end of line 1 can fix this problem.

Example 2 –

x = 'This is a String
print(x)

In this example, there is a missing single quote at the end of line 1.

Example 3 –

x = 'It's awesome'
print(x)

In this special example, there three single quotes in the first line. According to python, the string for x variable ends at the send single quote. The next part will be treated as a part of another code, not a string. This causes SyntaxError to appear on your screen.

Cause 2: Unclosed Double Quotes

String Literals can also be declared by using double-quotes. In most of hte programming languages, double quotes are the default way to declare a string. So, if you fail to enclose the string with double quotes it’ll throw SyntaxError. Moreover, if you’ve used an odd number of quotes (“) in your string, it’ll also throw this error because of the missing quote. The following example will help you to understand –

Example 1 –

example1 = 'Single Quotes String'
example2 = "Double Quotes String
example3 = """Triple Quotes String"""

example1[0] # will print S

In this example, there is a missing double quote at the end of the second line. This missing quote causes the interpreter to parse all the following codes as part of the string for variable example2. In the end, it throws an EOL error when it reaches the end of the file.

Example 2 –

x = "This is a String
print(x)

Similarly, there is a missing double quote at the end of line 1.

Example 3 –

x = "It"s awesome"
print(x)

In this special example, there three double quotes in the first line. According to python, the string for x variable ends at the send single quote. The next part will be treated as a part of another code, not a string. This causes SyntaxError to appear on your screen.

Cause 3: Unclosed Triple Quotes

In Python, there is a special way of declaring strings using three double quotes (“””). This way is used when you have to include double quotes and single quotes in your string. With this type of declaration, you can include any character in the string. So, if you did not close this triple quotes, I’ll throw an EOL error. Following examples will help you to understand –

Example 1 –

In line 3 of the example, there is a missing quote from the set of triple quotes. As a result, the python interpreter will treat all the following lines as a part of the string for example3 variable. In the end, as there are no ending triple quotes, it’ll throw EOL error.

example1 = 'Single Quotes String'
example2 = "Double Quotes String"
example3 = """Triple Quotes String""

example1[0] # will print S

Example 2 –

Similar to example 1, two of the quotes are missing from line 1.

x = """This is a String"
print(x)

Cause 4: Odd Number of Backslashes in Raw String

Backslashes are used in the string to include special characters in the string. For example, if you want to add double quotes in a doubly quoted string, you can use ” to add it. Every character after backslashes has a different meaning for python. So, if you fail to provide a corresponding following character after the backslash (), you’ll get EOL While Scanning String Literal Error. Following examples will help you understand it –

Example 1 –

The following string is invalid because there is no following character after the backslash. Currently, python processes the strings in the same way as Standard C. To avoid this error put “r” or “R” before your string.

Example 2 –

The following example contains an odd number of backslashes without the following characters. This causes the EOL error to raise as the interpretation expects the next character.

Example 3 –

The last backslash in the string doesn’t have the following character. This causes the compiler to throw an error.

How do you fix EOL While Scanning String Literal Error?

Since the causes of the errors are clear, we can move on to the solution for each of these errors. Although each cause has a different way of solving it, all of them belong to string literals. All of these errors are based on incomplete string literals which are not closed till the end. Following solutions will help you to solve each of these errors –

Solution for Single Quoted Strings

Fixing incomplete quoted strings is an easy task in Python. Firstly, look for the string declarations in your code. After finding it, check if the string has incomplete end single quotes (‘). Also, check if the string has any extra single quotes. After locating the string, add a single quote at the end of the string.

Example 1 –

example1 = 'Single Quotes String'    # added single quote here
example2 = "Double Quotes String"
example3 = """Triple Quotes String"""

example1[0] # will print S

Solution for double quoted Strings in EOL While Scanning String Literal

Similarly, for double quotes, check if any of the string declarations in your code have missing double quotes (“). If not, check for an additional double quote inside the string. You can use the Find option in your IDE to find it quickly. Locate this error and fix it by adding an extra double quote at the end of this line.

Example –

example1 = 'Single Quotes String'
example2 = "Double Quotes String"   # added double quote here
example3 = """Triple Quotes String"""

example1[0] # will print S

Solution for incomplete backslashes in Strings

Firstly, check if your codes contains and backslashes. If yes, move to the specific line and check if it’s included inside the string. Currently, the backslashes allow us to add special characters in the string. If your string contains such backslashes, remove them and try to run the code. Additionally, if you want to add special characters, you can use the tripe quoted strings as well. Following examples can help you to understand it properly –

# invalid
x = ""
x = "\"
x = "\""

# valid
x = "\"
x = "\\"
x = "\""

To add special characters in the string, you can use backslashes in the string. For example, t adds a new tab space, n adds a new line, \ adds a literal backslash, and many others. Make sure that you use them carefully to avoid any EOF While Scanning Errors.

EOL While Scanning Triple Quoted String Literal Error

Triple Quoted Strings are a powerful way of defining strings in Python. It can be used if you want to add characters like double quotes, single quotes, and other special characters in the string. Multiline Line String Literals can also be declared by using Tripe Quoted Strings. Also, the documentation of codes is done via triple quotes in python. Many times, we mistakenly use less than three quotes to initialize it. In such cases, EOL while scanning triple quoted string literal error appears.

The basic syntax of triple quoted string is –

x = """This is a triple quoted string""""

Using the above method, you can declare strings in triple quotes. Check – How to Remove Quotes From a String in Python

Coming back to our error, whenever a user uses less than 6 quotes (3 at front and 3 at the end), the interpreter throws an EOL SyntaxError. To fix this, make sure that you keep the proper 3 + 3 quotes structure in your code as shown above. Follow this example to get an idea –

# invalid
x = """Incorrect String""
x = ""Incorrect String"""
x = "Incorrect String"""
x = """Incorrect String"
x = """Incorrect "String""

# valid
x = """Correct String"""
x = """Correct "String"""
x = """Correct ""String"""

Note – You can add any number of single and double quotes inside the string but the three quotes on start and end are mandatory.

How to fix SyntaxError unexpected EOF while parsing?

As EOL While Scanning String Literal Error occurs due to incomplete strings, unexpected EOF while parsing occurs when there are other incomplete blocks in the code. The interpreter was waiting for certain brackets to be completed but they never did in the code. The main cause of this error is incomplete brackets, square brackets, and no indented blocks.

For example consider a, “for” loop in your code that has no intended block following it. In such cases, the Syntax Error EOF will be generated.

Moreover, check the parameters passed in your functions to avoid getting this error. Passing an invalid argument can also result in this error. Following code, an example can help you to understand the parsing errors –

Example 1 –

In this example, there is a bracket missing from the print() statement. The interpreter reaches the End of the Line before the bracket completes, resulting in SyntaxError. Such errors can be solved by simply adding another bracket.

Error –

x = "Python Pool is awesome"
print(x.upper()    # 1 bracket is missing

Solution –

x = "Python Pool is awesome"
print(x.upper())

Example 2 –

In this example, there is no code block after the “for” statement. The python interpreter expects an indented code block after the for a statement to execute it, but here it’s not present. As a result, this code throws an EOF error. To solve this error, insert an intended block at the end.

Error –

Solution –

x = 5
for i in range(5):
    print(x)

Common FAQs

Following are some of the common FAQs related to this topic –

How to use n in Python?

n refers to a new line in programming languages. To use it in python, you need to declare a string by using double quotes (“) and then add a “n” inside it to create a new line. Following is an example for it –

x = "First linenSecond Line"
print(x)

Output –

First line
Second Line

How to Use Backslash in Python?

Backslashes are a great way to add special characters to your string. It is used to add quotes, slashes, new lines, tab space, and other characters in the string. To use it, you first need to declare a string using double quotes and then use “” to add characters.

x = "This adds a tab spacetbetween"
print(x)

Output –

This adds a tab space   between

Which form of string literal ignores backslashes?

Only raw strings literals ignore the backslashes in the Python code. To declare a raw string, you have to mention an “r” or “R” before your string. This helps to understand the python interpreter to avoid escape sequences,

x = r'pythonpool'
print(x)

Output –

pythonpool

Must Read

Python getopt Module: A – Z Guide
4 Ways to Draw a Rectangle in Matplotlib
5 Ways to Check if the NumPy Array is Empty
7 Powerful ways to Convert string to list in Python

Final Words: EOL While Scanning String Literal

Strings have helpful in thousands of ways in Python. As using them can provide easy access to a sequence of characters and their attributes. The only problem is that you have to take care of their syntax. Any invalid syntax and invalid backslashes in the string can cause EOF errors to appear. To avoid this error, follow all the steps from the post above.

Happy Coding!

SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal error indicates that the interpreter expects a specific character or set of characters in the python code, but such characters do not exist before the end of the line. EOL is an abbreviation for “End of Line”. The string must be enclosed in quotation marks, either single or double. The error is caused by a missing quotation in the string, which is common in Python.

The python interpreter reaches the last character of the line while scanning the string without encountering the closing quotation marks. Therefore, the SyntaxError: EOL while scanning literal string error is thrown. Whenever this syntax error occurs, Python stops the execution of a program. To solve this issue, add the single and double quotation marks to enclose the string.

An EOL error is a syntax error that happens when the Python interpreter expects a specific character or string to appear in a given line of code but the character or string does not appear before the end of the line. It’s generally a typo error or syntax mistakes.

1. Causes

The “SyntaxError: EOL when scanning the literal string” error occurs in Python while scanning the string in the code line, and the python interpreter reaches the end of the line for the following causes.

• Missing quotations to close the string
• Mixing the quotations
• Multiline String

2. Missing Quotes to close the string

The missing double quotation in the string is the cause of the syntax error. The double quotation is either missing at the beginning or at the end of the string. Identify the beginning and the end of the text. Use a double quotation to enclose the text. The syntax error “SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal” will be resolved by replacing the missing quote.

Program

x = "My first Program
print(x)

Error

  File "/Users/python/Desktop/test.py", line 1
    x = "My first Program
                   ^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal
[Finished in 0.1s with exit code 1]

Solution

x = "My first Program"
print(x)

OR

x = 'My first Program'
print(x)

Output

My first Program

3. Mixing the Quotes

The syntax error is caused by the string’s use of a single quote followed by a double quotation. A different quotations are used at the beginning and ending of the string. Include the text with double quote marks at the beginning and end. The syntax error will be resolved by replacing the incorrect quote with the right quotation.

Program

x = "My first Program'
print(x)

Error

  File "/Users/python/Desktop/test.py", line 1
    x = "My first Program
                   ^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal
[Finished in 0.1s with exit code 1]

Solution

x = "My first Program"
print(x)

OR

x = 'My first Program'
print(x)

Output

My first Program

4. Multiline without slash

If the string spans more than one line, the python interpreter will reach the end of the line without finding the end quotes. Python has the option to ignore the end of line ( EOL ) character. You can use a multiline string by escaping the end of the line character using slash ( ). The code below shows how to escape the end of line character.

Program

x = "My first 
  Program"
print(x)

Solution

x = "My first
 Program"
print(x)

Output

My first Program
[Finished in 0.1s]

5. Multiline with triple quotes

The string is not able to span multiple lines with enclosing single or double quotation enclosures. If the string contains a lot of lines, then adding the escape character in each line will be tedious. Python allows for the enclosure of multiline strings with triple quotes. The “eol while scanning string literal” is resolved by replacing the double quotation with the triple quotation.

The code below demonstrates how to use a triple-quote multi-line string.

Program

x = "Yawin Tutor
 is my favorite
 website"
print(x)

Solution

x = """Yawin Tutor
 is my favorite
 website"""
print(x)

OR

x = '''Yawin Tutor
 is my favorite
 website'''
print(x)

Output

Yawin Tutor
 is my favorite
 website
[Finished in 0.1s]

SyntaxError EOL While Scanning String Literal?

Syntax errors are detected before the programs runs. Usually, it is just a typing mistake or a syntactical mistake. Such an error in Python is the SyntaxError EOL while scanning String literal. 

This SyntaxError occurs while the interpreter scans the string literals and hits the EOL(‘End of Line’). But if it does not find a specific character before the EOL, the error is raised.

Let us understand it more with the help of an example.

What is “SyntaxError EOL while scanning string literal”?

A SyntaxError EOL(End of Line) error occurs when the Python interpreter does not find a particular character or a set of characters before the line of code ends. When the error is raised, the code execution is halted.  

• Missing Quotes for closing the string
• String Extends Past one Line

1. Missing Quotes for Closing the String:

While closing a string, there are often times when we forget to add an inverted comma (single or double). When this happens, the Python interpreter is not able to find the End of the line while scanning the string. Thus the SyntaxError EOL error occurs. 

Example 1:

MyList = []
if not MyList:
          print("MyList is empty
else:
        print("MyList is not empty")

Output:

File "main.py", line 3
    print("MyList is empty
                       ^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

Explanation

In the above code, we have initialized an empty list MyList and used an if-else block to print if ‘MyList’ is empty or not. Inside the if block the print statement is used to print a string. But the string is missing double inverted commas at the end. And because of the missing commas, the Python interpreter is unable to find the end of the string. 

Thus the SyntaxError error is encountered.

Solution

Make sure that string should always be closed within single or double-quotes.

Correct Code

llist = []
if not llist:
        print("List is empty")
else:
        print("List is not empty")

Output

MyList is empty

2. String Extends Past one Line

In Python, we can not extend our string which is enclosed within a single or double inverted comma past a single line. If we try to do so the error “SyntaxError EOL while scanning the string literal occurs” will pop up.  If we want our string to extend in multiple lines, then they should be enclosed within triple inverted commas (single or double).

Example 2:

ttuple = ()
if not ttuple:
        print("Tuple is

empty")
else:
        print("Tuple is not empty")

Output :

 file "main.py", line 3
    print("MyTuple is 
                   ^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

Explanation

In the above code, we have initialized an empty tuple ‘MyTuple’ and used if-else block to print if ‘MyTuple’ is empty or not. Inside the if block the print statement is used to print a string. But the string is expanded in multiple lines. And is not interpreted by the python interpreter. Thus the error is raised.

Solution

Try to keep the entire string within a single line.  

Correct Code:

MyTuple = ()
if not MyTuple:
        print("MyTuple is empty")
else:
        print("MyTuple is not empty")

Output:

MyTuple is empty

Note:  If you want the string to be initialized in multiple lines. Then use triple inverted commas either single(»’ Single quotes »’) or double(«»»Double quotes «»»») to enclose your string.

Example:

MyTuple = ()
if not MyTuple:
        print("""MyTuple is

        empty""")
else:
        print("MyTuple is not empty")

Output:

MyTuple is
empty

Conclusion

We hope all the scenarios explained above will help you prevent the SyntaxError EOL while scanning String literal error. Another mistake you must avoid is using mismatched quotations. While closing strings, make sure that if it begins with single quotes, it must end with double quotes.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to fix one of the most common Python errors: SyntaxError – EOL while scanning string literal. There are three main causes for this error and this tutorial will help you resolve each of these causes. SyntaxErrors are indicative of errors with your code’s syntax. Since your code’s syntax is critically important in how Python interprets your code, knowing how to resolve these types of issues is very important for a Pythonista of any skill level.

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have learned:

• What the SyntaxError means
• What the 3 main causes of the error are and how to resolve them

Understanding Python SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

Because syntax errors refer to issues by how your code is written, specifically, fixing these issues relates to fixing the syntax of your code. Thankfully, the traceback that Python returns about the error identifies where the issue can be found.

Specifically, the Python SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal refers to strings ending improperly at the end of the line of code. This can point to three roots causes, that we’ll explore in this tutorial!

Now that you have a strong understanding of what this error refers to, let’s identify three of the main causes of this error.

Missing Quotes Causing Python SyntaxError

The most common cause of the Python SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal is due to missing quotes at the end of a string. This refers to a string being opened by using either ', ", or """ and not closing the string properly.

Let’s see what this looks like in Python code:

# Raising a SyntaxError When a String Isn't Closed
text = 'Welcome to datagy.io

# Raises:
#   Input In [1]
#     text = 'Welcome to datagy.io
#                                 ^
# SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

The trackback error indicates the line on which the error is happening and where the quote is expected. We can see the arrow points to where the string is expected to be ended.

Beginning in Python 3.10, this error message will become much clearer. In fact, it will raise a different SyntaxError, indicating which string literal hasn’t been closed properly. Let’s see what this looks like in Python 3.10+:

# New SyntaxError in Python 3.10
text = 'Welcome to datagy.io

# Raises
#   File "", line 1
#     text = 'Welcome to datagy.io
#            ^
# SyntaxError: unterminated string literal (detected at line 1)

In order to resolve this issue, we simply need to close the string with a corresponding quote character. Let’s fix this error and run our code without issue:

# Resolving a SyntaxError When Strings Aren't Closed
text = 'Welcome to datagy.io'

In the following section, you’ll learn how to fix a Python SyntaxError caused by strings spanning multiple lines.

Strings Spanning Multiple Lines Causing Python SyntaxError

Another cause of the Python SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal error is strings spanning multiple lines. Python allows you to create multi-line strings. However, these strings need to be created with triple quotation marks, using either ''' or """.

The following code will raise a Python SyntaxError:

# Raising a Python SyntaxError When Spanning Multiple Lines
text = 'Welcome to 

datagy.io'

# Raises:
#   Input In [3]
#     text = 'Welcome to
#                        ^
# SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

We can see that the error raised indicates where Python expected a string to be ended. However, in this case it’s not as clear that the string actually spans multiple lines.

We can resolve this type of Python SyntaxError using two methods:

1. We can wrap our string in triple quotes, or
2. Escape our line breaks

Resolve Strings Spanning Multiple Lines with Triple Quotes

In order to resolve this error, the string simply needs to be created with a set of triple quotes. This ensures that Python can correctly identify that the string should span multiple lines. Let’s see how we can resolve this error:

# Resolving a Python SyntaxError With Triple Quotes
text = """Welcome to 

datagy.io"""

By using triple-quotes on a string, Python allows your strings to span multiple lines. Similarly, you could use single triple quotes like '''.

Another method to resolve this is to simply escape the line breaks.

Resolve Strings Spanning Multiple Lines with Line Escaping

Python also allows you to escape line breaks by using the \ character. This lets Python know that the line break is aesthetic and should be ignored. Let’s see how we can resolve our Python SyntaxError using the escape character.

# Resolving a Python SyntaxError With Line Escaping
text = 'Welcome to  

datagy.io'

We can see that this allows the interpreter to properly read the multi-line string. In the following section, you’ll learn how to resolve the third cause of the Python SyntaxError.

Mismatched Quotes Causing Python SyntaxError

The final cause of the Python SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal is using mismatched quotation marks. This error occurs when the code uses quotes that aren’t the same style. Because Python allows you to use either ' or ", ensuring that they are used consistently is important.

Let’s see what this error may look like:

# Raising a SyntaxError When Using Mismatched Quotes
text = "Welcome to datagy.io'

# Raises:
#   Input In [6]
#     text = "Welcome to datagy.io'
#                                  ^
# SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

Python indicates that the string isn’t properly closed. It indicates that there should be a supporting quote at the end of the string, following the ' character. We can resolve this error by simply using a matching " character:

# Resolving a Python SyntaxError Caused by Mismatched Quotes
text = "Welcome to datagy.io"

We can see that by using the same type of quote the error is resolved.

Conclusion

In this guide, you learned how to resolve the Python SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal. This error has three main causes which were explored throughout. First, you learned how to resolve the error caused by missing quotes. Then, you learned how to resolve the error caused by strings spanning multiple lines. Finally, you learned how to resolve the error caused by mismatched quotes.

Additional Resources

To learn more about related topics, check out the guides below:

• How to Fix: Python indentationerror: unindent does not match any outer indentation level Solution
• Python: Remove Special Characters from a String
• Python: Remove Newline Character from String
• Python Strings: Official Documentation