How to Get a String Between Two Strings in Python

To get a string between two strings in Python, you can use the str.find() method to locate the indices of the two strings and then use string slicing to extract the substring between them. Here’s how you can do it:

Using `str.find()` and Slicing

“`python

Sample string

text = “Hello, my name is John Doe and I live in New York.”

Strings to find between

start_str = “is “
end_str = ” and”

Find the start and end indices

start_index = text.find(start_str) + len(start_str) # Add length to get to the start of the substring
end_index = text.find(end_str, start_index) # Start searching after the found start index

Get the substring between the two strings

substring = text[start_index:end_index]
print(substring) # Output: ‘John Doe’
“`

Explanation

text.find(start_str): This method returns the lowest index of the substring if found in the text; otherwise, it returns -1.
+ len(start_str): We add the length of start_str to the found index to get the starting position of the substring.
text.find(end_str, start_index): This searches for end_str starting from start_index, ensuring we only look ahead in the string.
text[start_index:end_index]: This slices the string from start_index to end_index, giving us the desired substring.

Example with a Function

You can also create a function to make this process reusable:

“`python
def get_string_between(text, start_str, end_str):
start_index = text.find(start_str) + len(start_str)
end_index = text.find(end_str, start_index)
return text[start_index:end_index]

Sample usage

text = “Hello, my name is John Doe and I live in New York.”
result = get_string_between(text, “is “, ” and”)
print(result) # Output: ‘John Doe’
“`

Notes

This method is case-sensitive.
If the strings are not found, it will return an empty string.
This approach works well for non-overlapping strings and when both strings are present in the text.