Python pass

Summary: in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the Python pass statement as a placeholder.

Introduction to the Python pass statement

Suppose that you have the following if...else statement:

counter = 1
max = 10
if counter <= max:
    counter += 1
else:
    # implement later
Code language: Python (python)

In the else clause, you haven’t got any code yet. But you’ll write code for this else clause later.

In this case, if you run the code, you’ll get a syntax error (SyntaxError).

This is where the Python pass statement comes into play:

counter = 1
max = 10
if counter <= max:
    counter += 1
else:
    passCode language: Python (python)

The pass statement is a statement that does nothing. It’s just a placeholder for the code that you’ll write in the future.

When you run the code that contains a pass statement, the Python interpreter will treat the pass statement as a single statement. As a result, it doesn’t issue a syntax error.

Technically, you can use the pass statement in many statement in Python.

Let’s take some examples of using the pass statement.

1) Using the Python pass statement with the if statement example

The following shows how to use the pass statement with an if statement:

if condition:
    passCode language: Python (python)

2) Using the Python pass statement with the for statement

This example shows how to use the pass statement in a for loop:

for i in range(1,100):
    passCode language: Python (python)

3) Using the Python pass statement with the while statement

The following example shows how to use the pass statement with a while loop:

while condition:
    passCode language: Python (python)

4) Using the Python pass statement with functions and classes

Later, you’ll learn how to define a function:

def fn():
    passCode language: Python (python)

and a class:

class Stream:
    passCode language: Python (python)

In these examples, you use the pass statement to mark the function and class empty.

Summary

• Use the Python pass statement to create a placeholder for the code that you’ll implement later.