Python ord() Function

Python ord Syntax

The syntax of Python ord is

ord(ch);

Here, ch represents any character of which we have to find the integer value.

Python ord Parameter

The Python ord function takes a single character as a parameter which is: 

ch - a Unicode character

If we try to give two characters as parameters, it will throw some errors.

Python ord Return Value

The Python ord function returns an integer value of the Unicode character. Here, it's important to remember that the ord() function returns a Unicode value, not an ASCII value.

Now let us discuss some examples of the Python ord function to understand it better.

Python ord Examples

Let us discuss some examples of the Python ord function.

Code

• Python

Python

order = ord('a')
order_1 = ord('A')

print(order,order_1)

You can also try this code with Online Python Compiler

Run Code

Output

Note that the ord values of a and A will be different.

Now let us notice what will happen if we try to give two characters in the parameter.

Error Condition Code

• Python

Python

order = ord('aA')

print(order,order_1)

You can also try this code with Online Python Compiler

Run Code

Output

We can see that a TypeError has been generated when we tried to pass two characters.
 

Now let us see one exciting example of ord().

Code

• Python

Python

order = ord('c')
print(order)

order_1 = ord('b')
print(order_1)

order_new = ord('c') - ord('b')
print(order_new)

You can also try this code with Online Python Compiler

Run Code

Output

In the above example, ord('c') and ord('b') equal 99 and 98, respectively. Next, 99-98 = 1. 

We hope everything regarding the Python ord function is clear to you. Let us proceed to the next section of the blog to discuss something more.

Python ord and chr functions

The ord function acts as an inverse to the chr function in Python. Suppose you are confused about how don't worry. Everything will be clear to you now. 

Python's chr() returns a character-representation string and an integer with the Unicode code. For instance, chr(98) produces the character 'b' as its output. The parameter for this function is an integer.

Syntax

The syntax of Python ord is

ord(ch);

Here, ch represents any character of which we have to find the integer value.
 

The syntax of Python chr is

chr(i);

Here, i represents any integer of which we have to find the character value.

Example of ord() and chr() functions

Let us see examples of both functions and compare their outputs.

Code

• Python

Python

# ord function
order = ord('c')
print(order) 

# chr function
order_new = chr(99)
print(order_new)

You can also try this code with Online Python Compiler

Run Code

Output

In the output above, we can notice that the ord function returns 99 as an output. It was confirmed when we used the chr function to know the character representation of 99.

How does ord work in Python?

The ord() function in Python is used to get the Unicode code point of a given character. Unicode is a standardized character encoding that assigns each character a unique numeric value, known as a code point.

Here's a simple explanation of how ord() works:

char = 'A'
unicode_value = ord(char)
print(f"The Unicode code point of '{char}' is {unicode_value}")

In this example, ord() takes a single character (in this case, the uppercase letter 'A') as an argument and returns its Unicode code point. The result will be an integer representing the Unicode code point of the given character.

A Note on Unicode

Character encoding is a crucial and fundamental requirement for internationalization. The computer needs bytes for communication. There are more complex encodings as well as very simple ones. 

One such character encoding scheme is Unicode. Unicode standardized the character encoding. Not all languages were sufficiently covered by the advent of ASCII characters. Unicode was therefore introduced to address this circumstance. The Unicode Consortium first presented this encoding method.

This standard has about 100000 characters, which represent characters from many languages. Unicode employs 4 bytes to represent characters instead of ASCII's 1 byte. As a result, it offers a huge selection of encoding. It comes in three varieties: UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. Among them, UTF-8 is the most frequently used.

Now let us examine some frequently asked questions of ord().

Also see, Convert String to List Python

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is ord a 97 Python?

In the Unicode standard, the lowercase letter 'a' is assigned the code point 97, so ord('a') returns 97 in Python.

What is Ord (' Q ')?

ord('Q') returns the Unicode code point of the uppercase letter 'Q'. The specific value depends on the Unicode standard, but it's typically 81.

What is Ord (' B ')?

ord('B') returns 66, the Unicode code point for the character 'B'.

What does ord() 0 do in Python?

In Python, ord(0) raises a TypeError because ord() requires a string of a single character.

Conclusion

As we have reached the end of this blog, let us see what we have discussed so far. In this blog, we have discussed the Python ord function. Then we discussed its syntax, parameter, return value, and some examples. In the end, we discuss how the chr function differs from the ord function. 

If you like to learn more, you can check out our articles: 

• ord Interview Questions
   
• Python Guide
   
• Python String Concatenation
   
• Python Built-in Functions

You may refer to our Code360 for enhancing your skill set on DSA, Competitive Programming, System Design, etc. Check out essential interview questions, look at the interview bundle for interview preparations, and so much more!