Python pass Statement

In Python, there is a syntactical requirement that if statement, function, class, except, etc., cannot be empty.

So, if there is a plan or chance that you will use the if statement, create a function, write an error handler, etc. but not written statements to be executed, for now, then you may use a placeholder called pass there.

• The interpreter reads it and so if placed in functions, if statement, loops, etc. this is taken as a statement.
• The interpreter will produce IndentationError if functions, except, loops, etc. are left empty.
• The pass statement can be helpful for future implementations. As a programmer, you may want to move the next part after the if block or a loop, creating an empty function or class, however, you are not sure what code to write at that stage.
• The use of pass statement can also go beyond place-holding.

See an example of this scenario in the coming section.

Syntax of pass statement

The simple syntax of the pass statement is:

A demo of using pass in if statement

See this example where the pass statement is used in the if statement. If you run this code, it will do nothing:

#A demo of using pass statement

str_p = 'Python'

if str_p == 'Python':

    pass

If we did not use the pass statement an error would have been produced.

An example of pass with for loop

This time, the pass statement is used inside a for loop:

#pass statement with for loop

a_List = ['pass', 'statement', 'example', 'in', 'for', 'loop']

for val in a_List:

    pass

The pass statement with try-except example

In this example, the pass statement is used in the try-except block. A list of five numbers is created and a for loop is used to iterate through its elements.

In each iteration, 15 is divided by the current item of the list.

The list contains the number 0 at three index position.

As this item executes in the for loop for the division, it should throw the following error:

ZeroDivisionError: division by zero

However, as the try-except block is written, the error is managed. We do not want to show any message or perform any action, just ignore the zero.

Have a look at the code and I will explain the second part of the code:

#The pass example with try except

List_num = [5, 10, 20, 0, 40]

b = 15

for x in List_num:

    try:

        c = b / x

        print(c)

    except ZeroDivisionError:

        pass

print("###################")

for y in List_num:

    z = b / y

    print(z)

Using pass in class and function example

Similarly, you may create an empty function or class and use the pass statement as a placeholder. For example:

Creating a class:

Creating a function:

If you do not use the pass statement, an error occurs SyntaxError (Unexpected EOF while parsing).