Wildcards in Python

A wildcard is a symbol that can be used in place of or in addition to one or more characters. In computer programmes, languages, search engines, including operating systems, wildcards are used to condense search criteria. The question mark (?) and the asterisk () are the most popular wildcards.

Types of wildcards

The Asterisk (∗)

The asterisk (*) or the character can be used to specify any number of characters. The asterisk * is typically used at the conclusion of the root word and when it is necessary to look for root words with a variety of possible ends.

For instance, if we use the word "game" as an example, the phrases "gamer" and "games" would appear in all search results. Depending on the search parameters and other words, there might be additional words in addition to these two.

The Question Mark (?)

The question mark or the character? denotes one. Any of the letters in the root word may be used with it. When a word contains several other spellings, the use of the question mark operator speeds up the process.

Instead of the question mark wildcard, the dot or. character is utilised for the single character representation.

Take the word "honour," for instance. It would indicate the result as honour while omitting honour in this context.

Wildcard Search in Python

To use wildcard search in Python, the re library must be included into the programme. A library used to work with Regular Expressions in Python is called the re library, which is an acronym for the term Regular Expression.

To do the search, we will compile a list of words, and after that, we will employ the re library functions. With the aid of wildcards, we will locate a match with a correct word.

The Python code that follows conducts a wildcard search.

Output:

['hello']

Implementations:

Using the regex (regular expressions) module, we can implement wildcards in Python.

The dot. The question mark has been replaced with a character ?.

Output:

color

Like how the asterisk (*) symbol is employed, the.+ characters are used to match one or more characters. So, in Python, our regex code might look something like this to seek for all words beginning with the root "work":

Output:

working
worker