What is Pass Keyword in Python?

Introduction

Hello Ninjas! Do you know about the pass keyword in Python? If not, then you need not to worry. We will help you to clear all your doubts.

In this article, we will discuss the pass keyword in Python. There are various keywords in Python such as if, else, while, for, return, and def. And one such keyword is pass. We will discuss how we can use and implement it. 

Before moving on to the main topic, let us discuss Python.

Also See, Divmod in Python, Swapcase in Python

Python

Python is a high-level programming language with dynamic semantics(perspective on natural language semantics that emphasizes the growth of information), which Guido van Rossum created in 1991.

Python is one of the most widely used languages apart from C, C++, and Java. Python is a beginner-friendly language as it does not have complex syntax. Python is compatible with Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, and Windows. Python language resembles the English language, which makes it easier for the user to remember the syntax. Python does not have parentheses or semicolons. Therefore, it is vital to take care of the indentation. Otherwise, we might face some errors. Python supports Object Oriented Programming (OOP), has a large community of programmers, and offers extensive libraries. Python is used in game development, web development, software development, data science, web scraping, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning.

Let us understand the pass keyword in Python.

What is Pass Keyword in Python?

The pass keyword (a special reserved word with a specific meaning that is pre-defined and case-sensitive) is a null statement and does nothing. It does not do anything, then why do we have it as a keyword in Python, and does anyone even use it? Yes, it is used by coders when they do not know what to write in their code.

We can use the pass keyword in Python, where empty code is not allowed. We can use it in function definitions, class definitions, loops, and if statements. This helps us to avoid us getting any errors.
The pass statement is discarded during the byte-compile phase. The byte compile phase means when Python compiles the source code into a bytecode during execution, which is a low-level platform-independent code of the source code. It is used when a statement is required syntactically.
For example, if we use a function, we will face an error if nothing is written inside the function. And we can escape this easily using the pass keyword. We have also implemented this example later in this article. 

Hurray! We have understood the pass keyword in Python. Now let us understand the syntax of the pass keyword in Python.

Syntax

The syntax of the pass keyword in Python is as follows:

pass

Congratulations! We have successfully understood the syntax of the pass keyword in Python. Now let's look at the uses of the pass keyword in Python.

You can also read about the Multilevel Inheritance in Python and Convert String to List Python.

Uses of Pass Keyword in Python

Pass keyword in Python can act as a saviour for us. It can help us to avoid errors in the following cases:

• Empty function definitions.
• Empty class definitions.
• Empty loops.
• Empty if statements.

Leaving any function, class definition, loop, or statement empty will throw an error, but using the pass keyword can resolve this problem.
Well done! We have understood the uses of the pass keyword in Python. Now let us look at some examples to know how it is used.

Example of Pass Keyword with Implementation

We can use the pass keyword in an empty function, class definition, if statement, and loop.

Implementation

# Creating a function
def CodingNinjas():
    pass
print("Function was passed successfully")

Output

As we discussed above, if we do not use the pass keyword.

def ninjas():

So we will get the error in the output.

Implementation

# Creating a class
class Ninjas:
   pass
print("Class does not contain anything")

Output

Implementation

# False
if 32>64: 
   print("64")
else:
   # Will get executed without doing anything
   pass 
print("Checking if 32 is greater than 64")

Output

Implementation

# Loop from 0 to 29
for i in range(30): 
   if i%2:
       pass
   else:
       print(i)

Output

Alright! Now we hope you understood the pass keyword in Python.

Check out this article - Quicksort Python

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the advantages of Python over other programming languages?

Python is free to use, has simple and short code, has simplified syntax, and has extensive libraries.

Why do we need continue keyword?

The continue keyword is used to terminate the current iteration in a loop, and continue to the next loop.

What are modules in Python?

Python module is a file that contains statements and definitions. A module can define classes, functions, and variables. It may also contain an executable code.

What is the difference between a pass and continue keywords in Python?

The continue keyword forces the loop to start at the next iteration. In comparison, the pass keyword tells that there is no code to execute here.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed the pass keyword in Python. We learnt what it is and how we can implement it. We hope this blog on the pass keyword in Python was helpful. You can also refer to other similar articles.

• Recommended Topic, Floor Division in Python
• Python Introduction
• Indentation in Python
• Python 2 vs. Python 3
• Data Types in Python
• Loops in Python
• R v/s Python

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