Operators in Python

Operators in Python: An Overview

Operators in Python Programming are the fundamental concepts that are important to know. These operators are needed to perform various operations in Python such as arithmetic calculations, logical evaluations, bitwise manipulations, etc. In this Python Tutorial, you will get to know about various Types of operators in Python with Example. If you are new to python and want to learn it from scratch, our Python Certification Training will help you with that.

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Types of operators in Python

In Python Programming, Operators are those symbols that are used to carry out certain operations on operands. These operations could be arithmetic, logical or bitwise. There are some of the basic operators used in Python that you should definitely know that are as follows:

Arithmetic Operators

The Arithmetic Operators are used to perform certain mathematical operations such as addition and subtraction. Use these operators on numeric operands. Following are the basic arithmetic operators used in Python:

Note:Python follows PEMDAS as the standard order of operations where Parentheses, Exponentiation, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction is performed in sequence.

Example of Arithmetic Operators in Python

# Arithmetic Operators Example

# Addition
a = 5
b = 4
sum_result = a + b
print("Addition:", sum_result)

# Subtraction
difference = a - b
print("Subtraction:", difference)

# Multiplication
product = a * b
print("Multiplication:", product)

# Division
quotient = a / b
print("Division:", quotient)

# Floor Division
floor_division = a // b
print("Floor Division:", floor_division)

# Modulus
remainder = a % b
print("Modulus:", remainder)

# Exponentiation
exponent = a ** b
print("Exponentiation:", exponent)

Explanation:

Here, we have defined variables 'a' & 'b' with values 5 and 4 respectively. Then, we have performed different arithmetic function with these variables and printed the results as below output.

Output

Addition: 9
Subtraction: 1
Multiplication: 20
Division: 1.25
Floor Division: 1
Modulus: 1
Exponentiation: 625

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Comparison Operators

Example of Comparison Operators in Python

# Comparison Operators Example

# Variables
a = 5
b = 2

# Equal to (==)
print("Equal to:", a == b)

# Not equal to (!=)
print("Not equal to:", a != b)

# Greater than (>)
print("Greater than:", a > b)

# Less than (<)
print("Less than:", a < b)

# Greater than or equal to (>=)
print("Greater than or equal to:", a >= b)

# Less than or equal to (<=)
print("Less than or equal to:", a <= b)

Explanation:

Output

Equal to: False
Not equal to: True
Greater than: True
Less than: False
Greater than or equal to: True
Less than or equal to: False

Logical Operators

Example of Logical Operators in Python

# Logical Operators Example

# Variables
a = True
b = False

# Logical AND (and)
result_and = a and b
print("Logical AND:", result_and)

# Logical OR (or)
result_or = a or b
print("Logical OR:", result_or)

# Logical NOT (not)
result_not_a = not a
result_not_b = not b
print("Logical NOT for a:", result_not_a)
print("Logical NOT for b:", result_not_b)

Explanation:

Output

Logical AND: False
Logical OR: True
Logical NOT for a: False
Logical NOT for b: True

Bitwise Operators

Example of Bitwise Operators in Python

# Bitwise Operators Example

# Variables
a = 5   # Binary: 0101
b = 3   # Binary: 0011

# Bitwise AND (&)
result_and = a & b
print("Bitwise AND:", result_and)

# Bitwise OR (|)
result_or = a | b
print("Bitwise OR:", result_or)

# Bitwise XOR (^)
result_xor = a ^ b
print("Bitwise XOR:", result_xor)

# Bitwise NOT (~)
result_not_a = ~a
result_not_b = ~b
print("Bitwise NOT for a:", result_not_a)
print("Bitwise NOT for b:", result_not_b)

# Left Shift (<<)
result_left_shift_a = a << 1
print("Left Shift for a:", result_left_shift_a)

# Right Shift (>>)
result_right_shift_b = b >> 1
print("Right Shift for b:", result_right_shift_b)

Explanation:

Output

Bitwise AND: 1
Bitwise OR: 7
Bitwise XOR: 6
Bitwise NOT for a: -6
Bitwise NOT for b: -4
Left Shift for a: 10
Right Shift for b: 1

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Assignment Operators

Example of Assignment Operators in Python

# Assignment Operators Example

# Variables
a = 10
b = 5

# Assignment (=)
a = 10
print("Assignment (=):", a)

# Addition Assignment (+=)
a += 3
print("Addition Assignment (+=):", a)

# Subtraction Assignment (-=)
a -= 2
print("Subtraction Assignment (-=):", a)

# Multiplication Assignment (*=)
a *= 4
print("Multiplication Assignment (*=):", a)

# Division Assignment (/=)
a /= 2
print("Division Assignment (/=):", a)

# Modulus Assignment (%=)
a %= 3
print("Modulus Assignment (%=):", a)

# Floor Division Assignment (//=)
a //= 2
print("Floor Division Assignment (//=):", a)

# Exponentiation Assignment (**=)
a **= 2
print("Exponentiation Assignment (**=):", a)

# Assignment (=) with variable b
b = a
print("Assignment (=) with variable b:", b)

Explanation:

Output

Assignment (=): 10
Addition Assignment (+=): 13
Subtraction Assignment (-=): 11
Multiplication Assignment (*=): 44
Division Assignment (/=): 22.0
Modulus Assignment (%=): 1.0
Floor Division Assignment (//=): 0.0
Exponentiation Assignment (**=): 0.0
Assignment (=) with variable b: 0.0

Identity Operators

Example of Identity Operators in Python

# Identity Operators Example

# Variables
a = 4
b = 5

# Identity (is)
print("Identity (is):")
print("a is b:", a is b)  # False
print("a is not b:", a is not b)  # True

# Update variable b to reference the same object as a
b = a

# Check identity after update
print("\nAfter updating variable b:")
print("a is b:", a is b)  # True
print("a is not b:", a is not b)  # False

Explanation:

Output

Identity (is):
a is b: False
a is not b: True

After updating variable b:
a is b: True
a is not b: False

Membership Operators

Example of Membership Operators in Python

# Membership Operators Example

# List
numbers = [1, 2, 3]

# In operator
print(2 in numbers)   # True

# Not in operator
print(4 not in numbers)   # True

# String
string = "Hello"

# In operator with string
print('e' in string)   # True

# Not in operator with string
print('z' not in string)   # True

Explanation:

Output

True
True
True
True

Best Practices

Guidelines for using operators effectively

• You must use parentheses to write more readable and clearer expressions.
• Python allows for chaining operators but using it in excess will only make the code more complex and difficult to read so avoid it as much as you can.
• Use names for variables that clearly describe the purpose of the operands.
• Pay extra attention while using Membership and Identity operators.
• Use Bitwise operators only when necessary as they can be a little complicated to use.
• Test your code thoroughly to check if all the operators are working correctly or not.

Tips for writing clean and efficient code

• It is always advisable to sticking to the coding standards and style guidelines like PEF 8 (Python), Google's Python Style Guide.
• Make variable names as descriptive and meaningful as possible.
• Maintain the conciseness of your functions so that it is easy to read, test and debug.
• Avoid repetition of the code.
• Write comments explaining the logic wherever needed clearly and concisely.

Summary