Strings
Strings in the Wolfram Language are indicated by double quotes ("...").
The quotes are not included when strings are output, unless you use InputForm:
<> joins strings:
Notes for Java programmers:
<> is specifically reserved for joining strings in the Wolfram Language, avoiding the ambiguity of using + for this purpose.
Notes for Python programmers:
<> is specifically reserved for joining strings in the Wolfram Language, avoiding the ambiguity present in Python for using + for this purpose.
Strings can contain any Unicode characters, entered using names like \[Alpha], shortcuts like ESC a ESC, explicit Unicode like \:03b1—or entered from a palette button 
.
Notes for Python programmers:
Both Python 3 and Wolfram Language strings are Unicode by default. In Python 2, strings are ASCII by default, unless explicitly defined as Unicode.
String patterns use ~~ to combine strings with pattern constructs:
In patterns p... indicates zero or more repetitions of p.
RegularExpression allows compact regex notation.
Notes for Java programmers:
String patterns offer powerful string matching using the Wolfram Language pattern syntax. You can also string match using the Wolfram Language's regular expressions, with a notation very similar to Java's regex support.
Notes for Python programmers:
Wolfram Language string patterns offer powerful string matching using a general-pattern syntax, optimized for readability and intuitiveness. The closest analog in Python is string matching with regex, which works similarly to the Wolfram Language's RegularExpression function.
String templates use `` to indicate "slots" and <* ... *> to indicate expressions to evaluate:
Notes for Java programmers:
TemplateApply performs a similar function to Java's System.out.printf method, but the Wolfram Language uses `` instead of %, doesn't require a type specifier and allows inline computations using <* ... *>.
Notes for Python programmers:
TemplateApply in the Wolfram Language works similarly to Python's % or format function, except inline computations using <* ... *> are not supported in Python.
QUICK REFERENCE: Operations on Strings