Alphabet range in Python

More than just lower case

Python's string module is more than just an alphabet generator. We've got uppercase, digits, and punctuation too:

# Uppercase because shouting is caring
from string import ascii_uppercase

# Including 9 because we didn't pay enough to get 10
from string import digits

# No letter? No problem
from string import punctuation
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With the string module, your options are as open as a 24-hour diner.

ASCII art with chr and ord

ord and chr aren't just fancy words, they help you work with ASCII values:

# Remember to say goodbye to 'Z'
uppercase_letters = [chr(i) for i in range(ord('A'), ord('Z') + 1)]
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The above code won't make your program a work of art, but it will create an alphabet range in Python.

Customization with a letter range function

Your alphabet doesn't have to go from 'a' to 'z'. Choose your custom range:

def letter_range(start, stop, step=1):
    """Generate a range of letters. Oh, and don't misspell my function name."""
    for c in range(ord(start.lower()), ord(stop.lower()) + 1, step):
        yield chr(c)
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Now getting every second letter from 'a' to 'k' is as simple as:

for letter in letter_range('a', 'l', 2): 
    print(letter, end=' ') # Prints: a c e g i k
# Don't upset 'a'.... 'k'? (Next line please)
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Handling challenges in real-world scenarios

In the real-world, one size never fits all. You might encounter case sensitivities, localization, and specific character encodings. But don't worry, we got you covered:

• Avoid deprecated string.lowercase.
• Need localization? Look no further than the locale library.
• Working with Unicode? Use unicodedata to save the day.