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What a function docstring is—and what it should do
A docstring is the first string literal in a function body. Python makes it available through the function’s __doc__ attribute. The Python 3.14.8 tutorial demonstrates this behavior, while PEP 257 describes conventions for writing docstrings.
Use the docstring to tell a caller what the function does and clarify the contract that is not obvious from its name and signature. Include only details that matter to using or maintaining the function; a short function may need only a summary.
- Explain what each parameter means, using its actual name.
- Describe the returned value when its meaning or possible outcomes need clarification, including whether it can be
None. - Document externally visible side effects, relevant exceptions, preconditions, or restrictions.
- Clarify whether callers may use a parameter by keyword when that is part of the public interface.
Structure a docstring for quick scanning
Use triple double quotes. Put a concise, capitalized summary sentence ending in a period on the first line. Describe the effect directly rather than echoing the function name or copying its signature. For a longer docstring, add a blank line after the summary, then provide the supporting details.
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PEP 257 sets out high-level docstring conventions, not a mandatory markup syntax for sections such as arguments or returns. Teams commonly choose a format such as Google-style, NumPy-style, or reStructuredText. Choose one that reads well in the source, works with the project’s documentation tools, supports the details you need to explain, and matches existing code. PEP 287 proposed reStructuredText as a structured plaintext format; that does not mean every Python project uses it.
Add type hints to parameters and return values
Write a parameter annotation after its name and a colon. Write a return annotation after -> and before the colon ending the function signature. Annotations are optional metadata stored on the function; they do not change its behavior in the model described by the Python tutorial.
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In this example, the signature states the basic types and makes encoding keyword-only with a default. The docstring explains the parameters and useful outcomes that the types alone do not express:
def load_text(path: str, *, encoding: str = "utf-8") -> str:
"""Read a text file and return its contents.
Args:
path: Filesystem path to the input file.
encoding: Text encoding used to decode the file.
Returns:
The decoded file contents.
Raises:
OSError: If the file cannot be opened or read.
UnicodeError: If the input cannot be decoded with the selected encoding.
"""The section labels in this example are one possible style, not a format mandated by PEP 257. Use the convention your team and documentation tooling support. Avoid filling every possible section mechanically: explain only what is relevant to the function’s contract.
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Keep the docstring and signature complementary
Put machine-readable type information in annotations where it expresses the actual contract clearly. Use prose for meaning, constraints, and outcomes that a type cannot convey. A type like str says what kind of value is expected; it does not say that the string is a filesystem path, which encoding is selected, or what an exception means to the caller.
Likewise, do not duplicate the signature as prose. The parameter list already shows names, defaults, and keyword-only markers. Document what those details mean when that meaning is not self-evident. If the function accepts None, has a meaningful optional behavior, or can return None, make that clear in the annotation and explain the caller-facing consequence in the docstring when needed.
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Choose syntax that matches supported Python versions
Python’s typing API evolves, so use syntax supported by the project’s minimum Python version and type-checker ecosystem. Check the documentation for the versions you support rather than assuming that syntax shown in a current example works everywhere. The Python 3.14.8 typing reference describes AnyStr as deprecated since Python 3.13: it is slated for removal from typing.__all__ in Python 3.16 and from typing in Python 3.18. For the constrained type-variable use case discussed there, the reference recommends the newer type parameter syntax.
Know what type hints do—and do not do
Type hints are useful to static type checkers, IDEs, linters, and related tooling, as the typing reference explains. They do not automatically validate arguments or return values while a function runs. If an application needs runtime validation, it must use a separate mechanism; an annotation alone is not a runtime type check.
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