Operators in Python

What Are Operators?

Operators are special symbols in Python that perform operations on values and variables (called operands). Python supports several categories: arithmetic, comparison, logical, assignment, membership, identity, and bitwise.

Arithmetic Operators

Used to perform mathematical calculations:

a = 10
b = 3

print(a + b)   # 13  → Addition
print(a - b)   # 7   → Subtraction
print(a * b)   # 30  → Multiplication
print(a / b)   # 3.333... → Division (always returns a float)
print(a // b)  # 3   → Floor Division (drops the decimal)
print(a % b)   # 1   → Modulus (remainder)
print(a ** b)  # 1000 → Exponent (a raised to the power b)

Comparison Operators

Compare two values and return a Boolean (True / False):

a = 10
b = 20

print(a == b)   # False → Equal to
print(a != b)   # True  → Not equal to
print(a > b)    # False → Greater than
print(a < b)    # True  → Less than
print(a >= b)   # False → Greater than or equal to
print(a <= b)   # True  → Less than or equal to

Logical Operators

Combine multiple conditions together:

age = 20
has_id = True

print(age >= 18 and has_id)   # True  → both conditions must be True
print(age >= 18 or has_id)    # True  → at least one must be True
print(not has_id)             # False → reverses the Boolean

Assignment Operators

Assign values to variables, often combined with an operation:

x = 10
x += 5    # same as x = x + 5   → 15
x -= 3    # same as x = x - 3   → 12
x *= 2    # same as x = x * 2   → 24
x /= 4    # same as x = x / 4   → 6.0
x //= 2   # same as x = x // 2  → 3.0
x **= 2   # same as x = x ** 2  → 9.0
x %= 4    # same as x = x % 4   → 1.0

Membership Operators

Check whether a value exists inside a sequence (list, string, tuple, etc.):

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print("apple" in fruits)       # True
print("mango" not in fruits)   # True

Identity Operators

Check whether two variables point to the exact same object in memory (not just equal values):

a = [1, 2, 3]
b = [1, 2, 3]
c = a

print(a == c)   # True  → same values
print(a is c)   # True  → same object in memory
print(a is b)   # False → equal values, but different objects

Bitwise Operators

Operate directly on the binary representation of integers:

a = 6   # 0110
b = 3   # 0011

print(a & b)   # 2  → AND
print(a | b)   # 7  → OR
print(a ^ b)   # 5  → XOR
print(~a)      # -7 → NOT
print(a << 1)  # 12 → Left Shift
print(a >> 1)  # 3  → Right Shift

Operator Precedence

When an expression has multiple operators, Python follows a strict order of evaluation — parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication/division, then addition/subtraction:

result = 10 + 2 * 3
print(result)   # 16, not 36 — multiplication happens before addition

result = (10 + 2) * 3
print(result)   # 36 — parentheses override the default order

Key Takeaways

• Arithmetic operators handle math; comparison operators return True/False
• Logical operators (and, or, not) combine conditions
• == checks equal values, while is checks the same object in memory
• When unsure of evaluation order, use parentheses to make your intent explicit