Python display(): Render Rich Media in Jupyter & Colab

Syntax & Parameters 🔝

In Jupyter and Google Colab, display() is built directly into the global interactive namespace. In standalone scripts or modules, import it from IPython.display:

from IPython.display import display

display(*objs, include=None, exclude=None, metadata=None, transient=None, display_id=None, **kwargs)

display() vs. print(): Key Differences 🔝

While both functions output information, their underlying mechanisms and rendered formats are fundamentally different:

Displaying Pandas DataFrames 🔝

In notebook environments, typing a DataFrame variable name only renders the table if it is on the final line of the cell. Using display() allows you to output multiple DataFrames at any stage of your data analysis pipeline:

import pandas as pd
from IPython.display import display

df1 = pd.DataFrame({
    "Name": ["Alice", "Bob"],
    "Score": [92, 88]
})

df2 = pd.DataFrame({
    "Name": ["Charlie", "Diana"],
    "Score": [95, 79]
})

print("--- Raw Text (print) ---")
print(df1)

print("--- Rich Table (display) ---")
display(df1)
display(df2)

Rendering Rich Media: HTML, Markdown & Math 🔝

IPython provides specialized wrapper classes that inform display() how to render non-text data:

from IPython.display import display, HTML, Markdown, Math

# 1. Styled HTML banner
html_banner = HTML("""
<div style='background-color:#e8f4fd; border-left:4px solid #1a73e8; padding:10px;'>
  <strong style='color:#1a73e8;'>Notice:</strong> Model training completed successfully!
</div>
""")
display(html_banner)

# 2. Dynamic Markdown with bullet points
md_content = Markdown("""
### Execution Summary
* **Accuracy:** 96.4%
* **Loss:** 0.082
* **Status:** Ready for deployment
""")
display(md_content)

# 3. Mathematical Formula (LaTeX)
formula = Math(r"E = mc^2 \quad 	ext{and} \quad \sigma = \sqrt{rac{1}{N}\sum_{i=1}^N (x_i - \mu)^2}")
display(formula)

Live In-Place Updates with display_id 🔝

One of the most powerful features of display() is the ability to update existing cell output in place without printing hundreds of repetitive lines. Setting display_id=True returns a DisplayHandle object with an update() method:

import time
from IPython.display import display, HTML

# Create a handle by setting display_id=True
handle = display(HTML("<b>Progress: 0%</b>"), display_id=True)

for step in range(1, 5):
    time.sleep(0.3)
    pct = step * 25
    # Overwrites the existing element in-place
    handle.update(HTML(f"<b>Progress: {pct}% completed</b>"))

Custom Classes & the _repr_html_() Protocol 🔝

You can make your own Python classes render as rich HTML components by defining the special method _repr_html_(self). When passed to display(), IPython automatically invokes this method:

class MetricBadge:
    def __init__(self, label, value, change_pct):
        self.label = label
        self.value = value
        self.change_pct = change_pct

    def _repr_html_(self):
        color = "#0b8043" if self.change_pct >= 0 else "#d93025"
        symbol = "+" if self.change_pct >= 0 else ""
        return (
            f"<div style='padding:8px 12px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:6px; display:inline-block;'>"
            f"  <strong>{self.label}:</strong> {self.value} "
            f"  <span style='color:{color}; font-weight:bold;'>({symbol}{self.change_pct}%)</span>"
            f"</div>"
        )

    def __repr__(self):
        return f"{self.label}: {self.value} ({self.change_pct}%)"

badge = MetricBadge("Monthly Revenue", "$45,200", 12.4)
display(badge)

Handling Terminal vs. Notebook Environments 🔝

If your code runs both in notebooks and in standard terminal scripts (such as CLI tools or cron tasks), calling display() in a pure Python terminal will raise a NameError unless imported. Write a safe helper function that falls back to print() when outside interactive notebooks:

def safe_display(obj):
    try:
        from IPython.display import display
        from IPython import get_ipython
        if get_ipython() is not None:
            display(obj)
            return
    except (ImportError, NameError):
        pass
    # Fallback for standard command-line Python
    print(obj)

Hands-on Exercise: Live Metric Dashboard with Assertions 🔝

Let's construct a verified component that builds an analytics summary card using custom HTML generation, and test its output structure with assertions:

class KPIDashboard:
    def __init__(self, title):
        self.title = title
        self.metrics = {}

    def add_metric(self, name, val):
        self.metrics[name] = val

    def _repr_html_(self):
        rows = "".join(
            f"<li><strong>{k}:</strong> {v}</li>" for k, v in self.metrics.items()
        )
        return f"<div class='kpi-panel'><h4>{self.title}</h4><ul>{rows}</ul></div>"

    def __repr__(self):
        return f"{self.title}: {self.metrics}"

# Build test dashboard
dash = KPIDashboard("Q3 System Health")
dash.add_metric("CPU Utilization", "28%")
dash.add_metric("Active Sessions", 1420)
dash.add_metric("Uptime", "99.98%")

# Unit Assertions
html_output = dash._repr_html_()
assert "<div class='kpi-panel'>" in html_output
assert "<h4>Q3 System Health</h4>" in html_output
assert "CPU Utilization:</strong> 28%" in html_output
assert repr(dash) == "Q3 System Health: {'CPU Utilization': '28%', 'Active Sessions': 1420, 'Uptime': '99.98%'}"

print("Generated HTML:", html_output)
print("All KPI dashboard unit assertions passed successfully!")

More Details & Related Guides 🔝

• Google Colab Python Tutorial — Getting started with interactive cloud notebooks and hardware accelerators.
• print() Function — Python's standard text output mechanism and stream formatting.
• IPyWidgets Overview — Building sliders, dropdowns, and interactive dashboards in Jupyter.
• Pandas DataFrame Guide — Creating, manipulating, and displaying tabular structures.
• format() Function — String interpolation and number formatting in Python.

Subhendu Mohapatra

Author & Instructor at plus2net

I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.

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