Built-in Functions

Published Jul 30, 2021Updated Sep 9, 2021

The Python interpreter has a set of functions and types built into it (pre-defined). They are always ready at your disposal; you can use them without needing to import a library.

There are 68 built-in functions and they are listed here in alphabetical order.

Built-in Functions

abs(): Returns the absolute value of a numeric argument.
all(): Returns True if every item in an iterable evaluates to True, otherwise, it returns False.
any(): Takes in an iterable object such as a list or tuple and returns True if any of the elements in the iterable are True. If none of the elements in the iterable are True, returns False.
ascii(): Receives as input an object containing string data, and returns the object as a printable representation with escapes for non-ASCII characters (accented characters).
bin(): Converts an integer into its binary equivalent string.
bool(): Converts a value to a Boolean True or False value.
breakpoint(): Engages, configures, and changes the debugger program used in a script.
bytearray(): Returns an array of the given bytes of an object.
bytes(): Returns a byte immutable object representing the given bytes of an object.
callable(): Returns True if an object is callable, and False if an object is not callable.
chr(): Returns Unicode characters represented by integers ranging between 0 and 1,114,111.
classmethod(): Converts a given function into a class method.
compile(): Returns a runnable code object created from a string.
complex(): Converts a given string into a complex number.
delattr(): Allows the user to delete attributes from an object.
dict(): Initializes a new dictionary from mapping n-number of object (key, value) pairs.
divmod(): Returns the quotient and remainder of the division of two numbers.
enumerate(): Returns a list of tuples containing an index and an element for each of the elements in an iterator.
eval(): Returns the value of a Python expression passed as a string.
filter(): Returns a filter object that applies a function to each item in an iterable and returns the values that are True.
float(): Returns a float value based on a string, numeric data type, or no value at all.
frozenset(): Returns a new frozenset using an optional iterable object such as a string or list.
getattr(): Returns the value of the named property in the specified object.
hasattr(): Returns True if an object has an attribute and False otherwise.
help(): Displays documentation of an object using the Python help utility.
hex(): Converts an integer number to a lowercase hexadecimal string.
input(): Prompts the user for data and returns it as a string.
int(): Takes in a value that can be converted into an integer, and returns a copy of the value in the int datatype.
isinstance(): Returns True if the given object is the specified type. Otherwise the function will return False.
issubclass(): Returns True if a given class is a subclass of one or more classes.
len(): Returns the length of an object, which can either be a sequence or collection.
list(): Returns a list from an iterable.
map(): Returns an iterator that takes a function and applies it to every item in an iterable.
max(): Returns the highest value from values given or an iterable.
min(): Returns the lowest value from values given or an iterable.
next(): Returns the next element from an iterable object.
oct(): Used to get an octal value of an integer number
open(): Used for opening files in a Python program.
ord(): Returns the integer that represents the Unicode character argument.
pow(): Returns the value of a base number x to the power of an exponent y, with an optional modulus z.
print(): Prints the string representation of an object.
range(): Returns a sequence of numbers based on the given range
repr(): Returns a printable string describing the object that is passed in.
reversed(): Takes in an iterator object, such as a list or string, and returns a reversed iterator object.
round(): Takes a number and an integer as parameters, and returns the number with decimal places equal to the integer.
set(): Returns a new set based on an optional iterable object such as a list.
sorted(): Takes in an iterator object, such as a list, tuple, dictionary, set, or string, and sorts it according to a parameter.
str(): Takes in a value that can be converted into a string, and returns a copy of the value in the string datatype.
super(): Returns a temporary object that allows a given class to inherit the methods and properties of a parent or sibling class.
tuple(): Creates a new tuple.
type(): Returns the data type of the argument passed to the function.
zip(): Takes multiple iterators as input and returns a single zip object made up of a list of tuples.