2.0 Python: Operators

Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.

In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values:

print(10 + 5)

Python divides the operators in the following groups:

• Arithmetic operators
• Assignment operators
• Comparison operators
• Logical operators
• Identity operators
• Membership operators
• Bitwise operators

---

2.1 Python Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common mathematical operations:

Operator	Name	Example
+	Addition	x + y
-	Subtraction	x - y
*	Multiplication	x * y
/	Division	x / y
%	Modulus	x % y
**	Exponentiation	x ** y
//	Floor division	x // y

---

2.2 Assignment Operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables:

Operator	Example	Same As
=	x = 5	x = 5
+=	x += 3	x = x + 3
-=	x -= 3	x = x - 3
*=	x *= 3	x = x * 3
/=	x /= 3	x = x / 3
%=	x %= 3	x = x % 3
//=	x //= 3	x = x // 3
**=	x **= 3	x = x ** 3
&=	x &= 3	x = x & 3
|=	x |= 3	x = x | 3
^=	x ^= 3	x = x ^ 3
>>=	x >>= 3	x = x >> 3
<<=	x <<= 3	x = x << 3
:=	print(x := 3)	x = 3 print(x)

---

2.3 Comparison Operators

Comparison operators are used to compare two values:

Operator	Name	Example
==	Equal	x == y
!=	Not equal	x != y
>	Greater than	x > y
<	Less than	x < y
>=	Greater than or equal to	x >= y
<=	Less than or equal to	x <= y

---

2.4 Logical Operators

Logical operators are used to combine conditional statements:

Operator	Description	Example
and	Returns True if both statements are true	x < 5 and x < 10
or	Returns True if one of the statements is true	x < 5 or x < 4
not	Reverses the result; returns False if the result is true	not(x < 5 and x < 10)

---

2.5 Identity Operators

Identity operators are used to compare the objects, not if they are equal, but if they are actually the same object, with the same memory location:

Operator	Description	Example
is	Returns True if both variables are the same object	x is y
is not	Returns True if both variables are not the same object	x is not y

---

2.6 Membership Operators

Membership operators are used to test if a sequence is presented in an object:

Operator	Description	Example
in	Returns True if a sequence with the specified value is present in the object	x in y
not in	Returns True if a sequence with the specified value is not present in the object	x not in y

---

2.7 Bitwise Operators

Bitwise operators are used to compare (binary) numbers:

Operator	Name	Description	Example
&	AND	Sets each bit to 1 if both bits are 1	x & y
|	OR	Sets each bit to 1 if one of two bits is 1	x | y
^	XOR	Sets each bit to 1 if only one of two bits is 1	x ^ y
~	NOT	Inverts all the bits	~x
<<	Zero fill left shift	Shift left by pushing zeros in from the right and letting the leftmost bits fall off	x << 2
>>	Signed right shift	Shift right by pushing copies of the leftmost bit in from the left, and letting the rightmost bits fall off	x >> 2

---

2.8 Operator Precedence

Operator precedence describes the order in which operations are performed.

2.8.1 Example

Parentheses has the highest precedence, meaning that expressions inside parentheses must be evaluated first:

print((6 + 3) - (6 + 3))

2.8.2 Example

Multiplication * has higher precedence than addition +, and therefore multiplications are evaluated before additions:

print(100 + 5 * 3)

The precedence order is described in the table below, starting with the highest precedence at the top:

note

If two operators have the same precedence, the expression is evaluated from left to right.

2.8.3 Example

Addition + and subtraction - has the same precedence, and therefore we evaluate the expression from left to right:

Operator	Description
()	Parentheses
**	Exponentiation
+x -x ~x	Unary plus, unary minus, and bitwise NOT
* / // %	Multiplication, division, floor division, and modulus
+ -	Addition and subtraction
<< >>	Bitwise left and right shifts
&	Bitwise AND
^	Bitwise XOR
|	Bitwise OR
== != > < >= <= is is not in not in	Comparisons, identity, and membership operators
not	Logical NOT
and	AND
or	OR

print(5 + 4 - 7 + 3)