Understanding Python's print() Function: Default Newline Behavior and How to Print on the Same Line

Python's print() function outputs text and, by default, appends a newline character ( \n ) because the built‑in end parameter is set to "\n" . This causes each call to start on a new line.

The default behavior can be observed with a simple example:

<code># using print with default settings
print("This will be printed")
print("in separate lines")
</code>

Both statements are printed on separate lines because end="\n" adds a line break after each call.

To print on the same line, you can change the end argument. Setting it to an empty string or a space prevents the automatic newline:

<code># Customizing the value of 'end'
print("This is string 1 same line", end=' ')
print("This is string 2 different line")
</code>

The output shows the two strings separated only by the chosen space instead of a newline.

You can also use a custom separator, such as a semicolon:

<code># Customizing the value of 'end' with a custom separator
print("This is string 1 same line", end=';')
print("This is string 2 different line")
</code>

Another common use case is printing items from a list on one line:

<code># iterating lists
list_fruits = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'orange']
for i in list_fruits:
    print(i, end=' ')
</code>

All fruit names appear on a single line separated by spaces.

When reading a file, each line ends with \n , which can produce extra blank lines when printed. Using rstrip() (or rstrip('\n') ) removes the trailing newline, and combining it with end='' prints the file contents continuously.

<code>print("1. Removing extra blank line")

fhand = open('rainbow.txt')
for line in fhand:
    line = line.rstrip()
    print(line)

print("\n")

print("2. Printing all in the same line")
fhand = open('rainbow.txt')
for line in fhand:
    line = line.rstrip('\n')
    print(line, end=' ')
</code>

These techniques eliminate unwanted blank lines and allow full control over how output is formatted on the console.