Q:

python regular expression degree sign

I came across the code below and I am wondering what the small circle/degree sign means. The code is supposed to extract text between Item 1A and Item B. Thank you!
(?s)(?i)°Item 1A.*?°Item

A:

The degree symbol, ° is treated as a literal character to be matched. Your input probably looks like this:
°Item 1A: Giraffes. Girrafes are taller than anteaters.
°Item 1B: Elephants. Elephants are taller than anteaters.
°Item 1C: Ants. Ants are shorter than anteaters.

So your regular expression starts its match at °Item1A and continues through the first subsequent °Item.

