Operators in Python

Python, known for its readability and versatility, relies heavily on operators to perform various operations on data. Understanding these operators is important for writing efficient and effective Python code. This guide looks into the different types of operators in Python, providing clear explanations and practical examples.

Arithmetic Operators

These operators perform basic mathematical calculations.

Operator	Description	Example	Result
+	Addition	10 + 5	15
-	Subtraction	10 - 5	5
*	Multiplication	10 * 5	50
/	Division	10 / 5	2.0
//	Floor Division	10 // 5	2
%	Modulus (remainder)	10 % 3	1
**	Exponentiation	10 ** 2	100

x = 10
y = 5

print(x + y)  # Output: 15
print(x - y)  # Output: 5
print(x * y)  # Output: 50
print(x / y)  # Output: 2.0
print(x // y) # Output: 2
print(x % y)  # Output: 0
print(x ** y) # Output: 100000

Comparison Operators

These operators compare two values and return a Boolean value (True or False).

Operator	Description	Example	Result
==	Equal to	10 == 5	False
!=	Not equal to	10 != 5	True
>	Greater than	10 > 5	True
<	Less than	10 < 5	False
>=	Greater than or equal to	10 >= 5	True
<=	Less than or equal to	10 <= 5	False

a = 10
b = 5

print(a == b)  # Output: False
print(a != b)  # Output: True
print(a > b)   # Output: True
print(a < b)   # Output: False
print(a >= b)  # Output: True
print(a <= b)  # Output: False

Logical Operators

These operators combine or modify Boolean expressions.

Operator	Description	Example	Result
and	Logical AND	True and False	False
or	Logical OR	True or False	True
not	Logical NOT	not True	False

p = True
q = False

print(p and q)  # Output: False
print(p or q)   # Output: True
print(not p)    # Output: False

Bitwise Operators

These operators perform operations on individual bits of integers. (We will not cover these in detail here, but you should look them up if you need them)

Assignment Operators

These operators assign values to variables.

Operator	Description	Example	Equivalent
=	Simple assignment	x = 10	x = 10
+=	Add and assign	x += 5	x = x + 5
-=	Subtract and assign	x -= 5	x = x - 5
*=	Multiply and assign	x *= 5	x = x * 5
/=	Divide and assign	x /= 5	x = x / 5
//=	Floor divide and assign	x //= 5	x = x // 5
%=	Modulus and assign	x %= 5	x = x % 5
**=	Exponentiate and assign	x **= 5	x = x ** 5

x = 10
x += 5  # x is now 15
x -= 3  # x is now 12
print(x) # Output: 12

Membership Operators

These operators check for membership in sequences (like strings, lists, tuples).

Operator	Description	Example	Result
in	Check if present	'a' in 'abc'	True
not in	Check if not present	'd' not in 'abc'	True

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
print(2 in my_list)  # Output: True
print(4 not in my_list) # Output: True

Identity Operators

These operators compare the memory addresses of two objects.

Operator	Description	Example	Result (if x and y point to different objects)
is	Check if objects are same	x is y	False
is not	Check if objects are not same	x is not y	True

x = [1, 2, 3]
y = [1, 2, 3]
print(x is y)  # Output: False (different objects in memory)
z = x
print(x is z) # Output: True (x and z refer to the same object)