def remove_comment(single_line):
    """
    Removes the comment at the end of the line (if any) and returns the result.
    """
    quoted_string = re.compile(
        r'''((?<!\\)".*?(?<!\\)")|((?<!\\)'.*?(?<!\\)')'''
    )
    # This divides the line up into sections:
    #   Those inside single quotes and those that are not
    split_line = quoted_string.split(single_line)
    # Remove empty items:
    split_line = [a for a in split_line if a]
    out_line = ""
    for section in split_line:
        if section.startswith("'") or section.startswith('"'):
            # This is a quoted string; leave it alone
            out_line += section
        elif '#' in section: # A '#' not in quotes?  There's a comment here!
            # Get rid of everything after the # including the # itself:
            out_line += section.split('#')[0]
            break # No reason to bother the rest--it's all comments
        else:
            # This isn't a quoted string OR a comment; leave it as-is
            out_line += section
    return out_line.rstrip() # Strip trailing whitespace before returning

    Removes the comment at the end of the line (if any) and returns the result.
    
recipes/Python/576704_Python_code_minifier/recipe-576704.py