Module 4

Strings in more detail

Text is data you can measure and manipulate.

Text as data

In bioinformatics, text is not just words. DNA sequences, protein names, sample identifiers: all of these are text. Python calls text a string, and it gives you many tools to work with it.

Python
seq = "ATGC"
print(seq)
print(type(seq))
ATGC <class 'str'>

The type() function tells you what kind of data something is. seq is a str, short for string.

What does type('hello') return?