my_var ='abcdefg'# To replace a with 1:my_var[0]="1"# This does not work, it will generate error:# 'str' object does not support item assignment# In order for it to work you will have to replace the whole string:my_var ='1bcdefg'# To do this programmatically you will have to:my_var[1:]# Capture everything from the 2nd charactermy_var ='1'+ my_var[1:]# Add 1 to the captured string and reassign the variable