Python SyntaxError

A Python SyntaxError occurs when the Python interpreter encounters code it cannot parse. This means that the code is not written in the correct format or contains some illegal characters (a.k.a tokens). 

The syntax of a programming language describes the allowed symbols in that programming language. Syntax also defines how programmers should combine symbols to compose a valid statement in a program.

That said, a SyntaxError is an error in the syntax of a program. 

The SyntaxError message is usually accompanied by a line number, indicating where the error occurred in the code.

File /dwd/sandbox/test.py, line 1
  message = '''Readme:
            ^
SyntaxError: unterminated triple-quoted string literal (detected at line 3)

Syntax errors can be caused by many things, including missing punctuation, misspelled keywords, or incorrect indentation. 

For instance, forgetting a colon in a "for" block or misspelling a keyword like "while" will cause a SyntaxError. 

In addition, Python requires indentation to define blocks of code, and incorrect indentation can also result in a SyntaxError.

To fix a SyntaxError, carefully read the error message and locate the line of code where the error occurred. Then, look for mistakes or omissions in that line, such as missing punctuation or incorrect keywords. 

If the error message is unclear, you can try adding print statements to your code to trace the execution and help you identify the cause of the error.

In this section, I've prepared a collection of the most common syntax errors among Python programmers with their solutions.

I hope you find them helpful 😊.