Where should a docstring be placed for a function?

The correct placement for a docstring within a function is at the beginning of the function body, right after the function definition. This practice ensures that anyone reading the code can easily understand its purpose and behavior immediately as they encounter the function.

According to Python conventions, a docstring is intended to describe what the function does, its parameters, return values, and any exceptions that might be raised. For clarity and maintainability, placing the docstring immediately after the function definition is the standard practice. This positioning makes it accessible to IDEs and documentation generators that extract docstrings to provide helpful information automatically.

While there are other locations mentioned, such as at the file’s start or the end of the function body, these would not align with conventions or best practices in Python programming. A docstring at the beginning of the file would pertain to the module as a whole, and a docstring at the end of the function would be less accessible and not immediately provide context for anyone utilizing the function.