Putting a string below a function definition in Python

Question

I was reading the Django documentation, and I came across this code:

from django.db import models

class Person(models.Model):
    first_name = models.CharField(max_length=50)
    last_name = models.CharField(max_length=50)
    birth_date = models.DateField()

    def baby_boomer_status(self):
        "Returns the person's baby-boomer status."
        import datetime
        if self.birth_date < datetime.date(1945, 8, 1):
            return "Pre-boomer"
        elif self.birth_date < datetime.date(1965, 1, 1):
            return "Baby boomer"
        else:
            return "Post-boomer"

What is the purpose of putting a string below a function definition i.e baby_boomer_status()?

It works as a code comment. Check this out: stackoverflow.com/q/33066383/4180176 — Joshua Nixon
– Joshua Nixon, Commented May 12, 2020 at 9:48

TitoOrt · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-12 10:19:17Z

2

That is called the docstring. Is not only for code commenting, but also can be accessed from the .__doc__ method to check info about the funcion:

edited May 12, 2020 at 10:19

answered May 12, 2020 at 9:52

TitoOrt

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1 Comment

sakhimpungose Over a year ago

thanks for your answer but the examples you provided in your answer used explicit comments. On the other hand, the example I gave uses a string. Is there a difference?

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