Remove plus sign from the beginning of a string in python

Removing a plus sign (+) from the beginning of a string in python involves several methods depending on your preference and the complexity of your requirement.

Choosing the method

1. Use string (): when you specifically went to remove a know set of leading character
2. Use slicing: If you prefer a more straightforward and possibly more performant solution for basic cases.
3. Using regular expression: If you prefer regex for more complex patterns,can use re.sub() to replace the plus sign at the beginning with an empty string.

Method 1: using str.lstrip ()

This method removes leading character (whitespace by default,or specified character) from the left side of the string.

original_string ='+book'
result_string =
original_string.lstrip('+')
print(result_string)

OUTPUT:

‘book’

• Original_string.lstrip(‘+’) remove any leading plus sign (+) from original_string.
• It removes the plus sign from ‘+’ book, resulting book.

Method 2: using slicing 

You can manually slice the string to remove the first character if it is a plus sign.

original_string ='+book'
if original_string.startswith ('+'):
   result_string =
original_string[1:]
else:
   result_string = original_string
print(result_string)

OUTPUT: ‘book’

• Original_string [1:] slices the string starting from the second character onwards.
• This effectively removes the Plus sign if it is at the beginning of original_string.

Remove plus sign from the string:

1. It checks if original_string starts with a plus sign (+) using starts with(‘+’)
2. If it does,it return as sliced version of original_string starting from the second character
3. If original_string does not start with the plus sign,it returns the original_string was unchanged

This function provides a clear and concise way to remove a plus sign from the beginning of a string in python.

Beneficial in various scenarios,

• Normalisation of data
• String manipulation
• Enhanced readability
• Standardization
• Error prevention
• Compatibility

In summary,removing a plus sign from the beginning of a string in python serves to improve data consistency, enhance readability ,facilitate accurate processing and ensure compatibility with standard or requirements of your application or system.