re.match() vs re.fullmatch()
re.match() and re.fullmatch() are both Python Regex Module APIs, and choosing between them is a common point of confusion. This page compares their syntax, parameters, return values, and typical use cases so you can pick the right one. re.match(): Checks for a match only at the beginning of the string. Its syntax is re.match(pattern, string, flags=0), and it returns match object or None re.fullmatch(): Checks if the entire string matches the regex pattern. Its syntax is re.fullmatch(pattern, string, flags=0), and it returns match object or None Example of re.match(): re.match(r"\\d+", "123abc") # Match (at start)
re.match(r"\\d+", "abc123") # None (not at start). Example of re.fullmatch(): re.fullmatch(r"\\d+", "123") # Match (entire string)
re.fullmatch(r"\\d+", "123abc") # None. Read the full references for re.match() and re.fullmatch() to see parameters, edge cases, and example code side by side. Other Regex Module APIs worth comparing: re.search(), re.findall(), re.finditer(), re.sub(), re.subn(), re.split().