Python Operators

Operators are symbols that are used to perform operations on values and variables. For example,

print (6 + 5) # 11

Here, + is an operator that adds 6 and 5.

Types of Python Operators

The different types of operators used in Python are:

• Arithmetic Operators
• Comparison Operators
• Logical Operators
• Bitwise Operators
• Special Operators

Let's learn about them in detail.

Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators perform arithmetic operations like addition, multiplication, subtraction etc.

List of Arithmetic operators:

Addition: +
Subtraction: -
Multiplication: *
Division: /
Floor division: //
Remainder: %
Exponent: **

Example: Python Arithmetic Operator

x = 7

# addition
result = x + 5
print('Result from addition:', result)

# subtraction
result = x - 5
print('Result from subtraction:', result)

# multiplication
result = x * 10
print('Result from multiplication:', result)

# division
result = x / 10
print('Result from division:', result)

# floor division
quotient = x // 2
print('Quotient:', quotient)

# modulus division
remainder = x % 2
print('Remainder:', remainder)

# exponent
result = x ** 2
print('Exponent:', result)

Output

Result from addition: 12
Result from subtraction: 2
Result from multiplication: 70
Result from division: 0.7
Quotient: 3
Remainder: 1
Exponent: 49

Comparison Operators

Comparison operators compare values between operands and return True or False. For example, >, <, == etc.

Some of the comparison operators:

Example: Python Comparison Operator

x = 5
y = 6

# greater than
print('x is greater than y:', x > y)

# less than
print('x is less than y:', x 

Output

x is greater than y: False
x is less than y: True
x is less than or equal to y: True

Logical Operators

Logical Operators perform logical operations and returns True or False.

Some of the logical operators are:

• and - returns True if both operands are true
• or - returns True if one of the operands is true
• not - returns True if both operands are false

Example: Python Logical Operator

x = False
y = True

# and operation
result = x and y
print('x and y is', x and y)

# or operation
result = x or y
print('x or y is',x or y)

# not operation
result = not x
print('not x is',not x)

Output

x and y is False
x or y is True
not x is True

Bitwise Operators

Bitwise Operators perform bitwise calculations on integers. It simply performs bit by bit comparison.

Some of the bitwise operators are:

Example: Python Bitwise Operator

x = 5 # 5 = 0000 0101 in binary
y = 6 # 6 = 0000 0110 in binary

# Bitwise AND
print(x & y) # 4

# Bitwise OR
print(x | y) # 7

# Bitwise NOT
print(~x) # -6

# Bitwise left shift
print(x > y) # 0

    # Bitwise XOR
    print(x ^ y) # 3

Special Operators

In Python, there are special types of operators like:

• identity operator
• membership operator

Identity Operators

Identity operators are used to check if two values are located on the same part of the memory. The two identity operators are:

• is - returns True if both variables are of same object
• is not - returns True if both variables are not the same object

Example: Python Identity Operators

# integers
x1 = 7
y1 = 7

# strings
x2 = 'Python'
y2 = 'Python'

# lists
x3 = [5,6,7]
y3 = [5,6,7]

print(x1 is y1) # True

print(x2 is not y2) # False

print(x3 is y3) # False

Here,

• x1 and y1 are both equal and identical integers. So, x1 is y1 returns True
• x2 and y2 are both equal and identical strings. So, x2 is not y2 returns False
• x3 and y3 are both equal but not identical lists. So, x3 is y3 returns False

Note: The interpreter locates lists separately in memory. So they are not identical.

Membership Operators

Membership operators check whether the given value is in the sequence(list, string, set, tuple and dictionary).

Membership operators are:

• in - returns True if value is in the sequence
• not in - returns False if value is not in the sequence

Example: Python Membership Operator

# membership operator with string
x = 'Python'
print('P' in x) # True
print('P' not in x) # False

# membership operator with dictionaries
y = {1:'a',2:'b'}
print(1 in y) # True

# membership operator with lists
z = ['a', 'b']
print('a' in z) # True

# membership operator with sets
s = {5, 6, 7}
print(6 not in s) # False

Here, in the dictionary, the membership operator checks whether the key(not the value) is found or not.

Recommended Reading: Python Boolean