How to get help with the help() function in Python interactive mode?

If you help in Python interactive mode, you can run the help() function. It will bring you to the Python help mode.

Here is a simple Python interactive session that shows how to use the Python help() function:

C:\fyicenter> python
Python 3.6.2 (v3.6.2:5fd33b5, Jul  8 2017, 04:14:34) [MSC v.1900 32 bit (Intel)]
 on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> help()

Welcome to Python 3.6's help utility!

If this is your first time using Python, you should definitely check out
the tutorial on the Internet at http://docs.python.org/3.6/tutorial/.

Enter the name of any module, keyword, or topic to get help on writing
Python programs and using Python modules.  To quit this help utility and
return to the interpreter, just type "quit".

To get a list of available modules, keywords, symbols, or topics, type
"modules", "keywords", "symbols", or "topics".  Each module also comes
with a one-line summary of what it does; to list the modules whose name
or summary contain a given string such as "spam", type "modules spam".

help> topics

Here is a list of available topics.  Enter any topic name to get more help.

ASSERTION           DELETION            LOOPING             SHIFTING
ASSIGNMENT          DICTIONARIES        MAPPINGMETHODS      SLICINGS
ATTRIBUTEMETHODS    DICTIONARYLITERALS  MAPPINGS            SPECIALATTRIBUTES
ATTRIBUTES          DYNAMICFEATURES     METHODS             SPECIALIDENTIFIERS
AUGMENTEDASSIGNMENT ELLIPSIS            MODULES             SPECIALMETHODS
BASICMETHODS        EXCEPTIONS          NAMESPACES          STRINGMETHODS
BINARY              EXECUTION           NONE                STRINGS
BITWISE             EXPRESSIONS         NUMBERMETHODS       SUBSCRIPTS
BOOLEAN             FLOAT               NUMBERS             TRACEBACKS
CALLABLEMETHODS     FORMATTING          OBJECTS             TRUTHVALUE
CALLS               FRAMEOBJECTS        OPERATORS           TUPLELITERALS
CLASSES             FRAMES              PACKAGES            TUPLES
CODEOBJECTS         FUNCTIONS           POWER               TYPEOBJECTS
COMPARISON          IDENTIFIERS         PRECEDENCE          TYPES
COMPLEX             IMPORTING           PRIVATENAMES        UNARY
CONDITIONAL         INTEGER             RETURNING           UNICODE
CONTEXTMANAGERS     LISTLITERALS        SCOPING
CONVERSIONS         LISTS               SEQUENCEMETHODS
DEBUGGING           LITERALS            SEQUENCES

help> BOOLEAN
Boolean operations
******************

   or_test  ::= and_test | or_test "or" and_test
   and_test ::= not_test | and_test "and" not_test
   not_test ::= comparison | "not" not_test

In the context of Boolean operations, and also when expressions are
used by control flow statements, the following values are interpreted
as false: "False", "None", numeric zero of all types, and empty
strings and containers (including strings, tuples, lists,
dictionaries, sets and frozensets).  All other values are interpreted
as true.  User-defined objects can customize their truth value by
providing a "__bool__()" method.

The operator "not" yields "True" if its argument is false, "False"
otherwise.

The expression "x and y" first evaluates *x*; if *x* is false, its
value is returned; otherwise, *y* is evaluated and the resulting value
is returned.

The expression "x or y" first evaluates *x*; if *x* is true, its value
is returned; otherwise, *y* is evaluated and the resulting value is
returned.

(Note that neither "and" nor "or" restrict the value and type they
return to "False" and "True", but rather return the last evaluated
argument.  This is sometimes useful, e.g., if "s" is a string that
should be replaced by a default value if it is empty, the expression
"s or 'foo'" yields the desired value.  Because "not" has to create a
new value, it returns a boolean value regardless of the type of its
argument (for example, "not 'foo'" produces "False" rather than "''".)

Related help topics: EXPRESSIONS, TRUTHVALUE

help> quit
You are now leaving help and returning to the Python interpreter.
If you want to ask for help on a particular object directly from the
interpreter, you can type "help(object)".  Executing "help('string')"
has the same effect as typing a particular string at the help> prompt.

>>> print("Hello world!")
Hello world!

>>>Ctrl-Z
C:\fyicenter>

Note that you need press Ctrl-Z to exist from the Python interactive mode.

⇒ Using Python Built-in Data Types

⇐ Start Python in Interactive Mode

⇑ Using Python in Interactive Mode

⇑⇑ Python Tutorials