Stop Using Semicolons in Python (2024)

Coming from a C/C++ background, I am used to seeing a lot of semi-colons ; in code. They are used to represent statement termination.

But, Python does not mandate the use of semi-colons for delimiting statements. Yet, I often come across Python code littered with semi-colons.

Most recently, I was going through a Data Science with Python Course. The instructor was introducing conditional statements and wrote the following piece of code:

temp = 10;if temp <12: print('It is cold'); cold = True;

My reaction: Pure Horror!

Semi-colons are used only in atypical situations in Python. So, I prepared a small guide explaining why you shouldn’t use semi-colons in Python and point out the handful exceptions.

In many popular programming languages, you need to add a semi-colon at the end of every statement. For example, in C++:

int c = 10;
int a = 5;printf('In C++, semicolon at the end is must');

But this is not true for Python.

Python is a no-bullsh*t programming language. It stays away from unnecessary characters and syntax.

In Python, a statement ends at the end of a line (exception for open brackets, quotes or parentheses). For example:

c = 10
a = 5print('No semicolons in Python')

A semi-colon in Python denotes separation, rather than termination. It allows you to write multiple statements on the same line.

print('Statement 1'); print('Statement 2'); print('Statement 3')

This syntax also makes it legal to put a semicolon at the end of a single statement: