Title: repr vs. str
Slug: repr_vs_str
Summary: repr vs. str in Python.
Date: 2016-01-23 12:00
Category: Python
Tags: Basics
Authors: Chris Albon
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In [1]:
    
import datetime
    
In [2]:
    
class Regiment(object):
    def __init__(self, date=datetime.datetime.now()):
        self.date = date
    def __repr__(self):
        return date
    def __str__(self):
        return str(date)
    
__repr__ is for the developer. It is string representation of the object and the code needed to reproduce the object.
__str__ is the output for the end user. It prints what the user wants to see.