What is the use of the "ord" function in Python?

Question

Jayant Kumar · Accepted Answer

Table of Contents
Introduction
The ord function in Python is a built-in function that is used to convert a character (a string of length one) into its corresponding Unicode code point, which is an integer representing the character in the Unicode standard. This function is particularly useful when working with text processing and character encoding tasks in Python, where understanding the numeric representation of characters is essential.
Understanding the ord Function
What is the ord Function?
The ord function in Python takes a single character as an argument and returns an integer representing the Unicode code point of that character. Unicode is a standard encoding system that assigns a unique number to every character from every writing system in the world, including symbols and control characters.
Syntax:
ord(character)

character: A single Unicode character whose code point you want to find.

How Does the ord Function Work?
The ord function is the inverse of the chr function, which takes an integer (Unicode code point) and returns the corresponding character. When you pass a single character to ord, it returns the Unicode integer that represents that character.
Example:
print(ord('A'))  # Output: 65
print(ord('a'))  # Output: 97
print(ord('0'))  # Output: 48
print(ord('$'))  # Output: 36

Practical Applications of the ord Function
Character Encoding and Decoding
The ord function is often used in encoding and decoding scenarios. When dealing with different character sets or transforming text for various formats (like ASCII), knowing the integer value of characters can be crucial.
Example: Converting Characters to ASCII Values
def text_to_ascii(text):
    ascii_values = [ord(char) for char in text]
    return ascii_values

sample_text = "Hello!"
print(text_to_ascii(sample_text))  # Output: [72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 33]

In this example, each character of the string "Hello!" is converted into its corresponding ASCII value using the ord function.
Comparing Characters by Their Unicode Values
Another practical use of the ord function is in comparing characters by their Unicode values. This can be useful when sorting strings or characters that need to be ordered according to their ASCII or Unicode values.
Example: Sorting Characters by Unicode Values
def sort_characters(text):
    return ''.join(sorted(text, key=lambda char: ord(char)))

print(sort_characters("bdca"))  # Output: "abcd"

Here, the ord function is used to determine the Unicode value of each character, which is then used to sort the characters in ascending order.
Implementing Simple Ciphers
The ord function is also handy in implementing simple text encryption algorithms like the Caesar cipher, where characters are shifted by a certain number of positions in the Unicode table.
Example: Caesar Cipher Encryption
def caesar_cipher(text, shift):
    encrypted_text = ""
    for char in text:
        if char.isalpha():  # Check if the character is a letter
            shifted = ord(char) + shift
            if char.islower():
                encrypted_text += chr((shifted - 97) % 26 + 97)
            else:
                encrypted_text += chr((shifted - 65) % 26 + 65)
        else:
            encrypted_text += char
    return encrypted_text

print(caesar_cipher("Python", 3))  # Output: "Sbwkrq"

In this example, the ord function helps determine the Unicode values of characters, which are then shifted to create an encrypted version of the input text.
Conclusion
The ord function in Python is a powerful tool for working with Unicode characters and their integer representations. It is essential for text processing tasks, character encoding and decoding, and even for implementing simple encryption algorithms. Understanding and using the ord function allows you to manipulate and analyze text data more effectively, making it a valuable asset in any Python programmer's toolkit.

What is the use of the "ord" function in Python?

Table of Contents

Introduction

Understanding the `ord` Function

What is the `ord` Function?

How Does the `ord` Function Work?

Practical Applications of the `ord` Function

Character Encoding and Decoding

Comparing Characters by Their Unicode Values

Implementing Simple Ciphers

Conclusion

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