🐍 Python Operators – Types, Usage & Examples

Python offers a rich set of operators that allow developers to perform operations on variables and values. Operators are the foundation of most computations in programming, and mastering them is essential for writing efficient Python code.

Whether you’re working with arithmetic, making decisions, or comparing values, Python provides built-in operators for all types of tasks — making your code more expressive and readable.

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➕ Arithmetic Operators

These operators are used to perform mathematical operations.

Operator	Description	Example	Output
+	Addition	3 + 2	5
-	Subtraction	3 - 2	1
*	Multiplication	3 * 2	6
/	Division	3 / 2	1.5
//	Floor Division	3 // 2	1
%	Modulus	3 % 2	1
**	Exponentiation	2 ** 3	8

🧠 Note: Floor division // returns the largest integer less than or equal to the result.

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🧮 Assignment Operators

Used to assign values to variables, often combined with arithmetic.

Operator	Example	Equivalent
=	x = 5	x = 5
+=	x += 3	x = x + 3
-=	x -= 2	x = x - 2
*=	x *= 2	x = x * 2
/=	x /= 2	x = x / 2
//=	x //= 2	x = x // 2
%=	x %= 2	x = x % 2
**=	x **= 2	x = x ** 2

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🧾 Comparison Operators

Used to compare values and return True or False.

Operator	Description	Example	Result
==	Equal to	5 == 5	True
!=	Not equal to	5 != 3	True
>	Greater than	5 > 3	True
<	Less than	5 < 3	False
>=	Greater or equal	5 >= 5	True
<=	Less or equal	5 <= 3	False

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🤔 Logical Operators

Used to combine conditional statements.

Operator	Description	Example	Result
and	Returns True if both are True	True and False	False
or	Returns True if one is True	True or False	True
not	Inverts the result	not True	False

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🧩 Bitwise Operators

Used to perform operations on binary values.

Operator	Name	Example	Result
&	AND	5 & 3	1
`	`	OR	`5
^	XOR	5 ^ 3	6
~	NOT	~5	-6
<<	Left Shift	5 << 1	10
>>	Right Shift	5 >> 1	2

🧠 Tip: Bitwise operations are useful in low-level programming and optimization techniques.

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🧪 Identity Operators

Used to compare memory locations of two objects.

Operator	Description	Example	Result
is	True if both refer to same object	x is y	True/False
is not	True if not same object	x is not y	True/False

x = [1, 2]
y = x
z = [1, 2]

print(x is y)    # True
print(x is z)    # False (different objects)

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📦 Membership Operators

Used to test if a value exists in a sequence (list, tuple, string, etc).

Operator	Description	Example	Result
in	True if found	'a' in 'apple'	True
not in	True if not found	3 not in [1,2]	True

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⚙️ Operator Precedence

Python evaluates expressions based on operator precedence (also called order of operations).

📝 Example:

result = 3 + 4 * 2     # Output: 11, not 14

📌 Precedence (High to Low):

1. () – Parentheses
2. ** – Exponentiation
3. +, -, *, /, //, % – Arithmetic
4. ==, !=, >, <, >=, <= – Comparison
5. not, and, or – Logical
6. is, in, etc.

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✅ Summary

🔹 Python operators allow efficient computation and logical decision-making.
🔹 They’re categorized into arithmetic, assignment, comparison, logical, bitwise, identity, and membership.
🔹 Operator precedence ensures that expressions are evaluated in the correct order.
🔹 Knowing operators is crucial for writing clean, optimized, and bug-free Python code.

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❓ FAQs

Q1. What’s the difference between = and == in Python?
= is an assignment operator, while == is a comparison operator.

Q2. Can I override operators in Python?
Yes, using magic methods (like __add__, __eq__, etc.) in classes.

Q3. What’s the result of True + True in Python?
2 – Because True is treated as 1.

Q4. What does is check in Python?
It checks whether two variables point to the same object in memory.

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