Python Programming - Operators

Python operators are special symbols used to perform specific operations on one or more operands.

The variables, values, or expressions can be used as operands. For example, Python’s addition operator (+) is used to perform addition operations on two variables, values, or expressions.

Note

The following are some of the terms related to Python operators:

• Unary operators: Python operators that require one operand to perform a specific operation are known as unary operators.

  x = 5
  print(-x) # Unary negation: Output will be -5

• Binary operators: Python operators that require two operands to perform a specific operation are known as binary operators.
• Operands: Variables, values, or expressions that are used with the operator to perform a specific operation.

  x, y = 15, 5
  print (x / y)
  #x&y are operands with division operator

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Types of Python Operators

Python operators are categorized in the following categories −

Operator Types

• Arithmetic Operators
• Assignment Operators
• Comparison (Relational) Operators
• Logical Operators
• Bitwise Operators
• Membership Operators
• Identity Operators

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Arithmetic Operators

Python Arithmetic operators are used to perform basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc. The following table contains all arithmetic operators with their symbols, names, and examples (assume that the values of a and b are 10 and 20, respectively).

Operator	Name	Example
+	Addition	a + b = 30
-	Subtraction	a - b = -10
*	Multiplication	a * b = 200
/	Division	b / a = 2
%	Modulus	b % a = 0
**	Exponent	a ** b = 10**20
//	Floor Division	9 // 2 = 4

arithmetic_operators.py

a = 7
b = 4
c = a + b
print(f"The sum of {a} and {b} is: {c}")

Output

The sum of 7 and 4 is: 11

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Assignment Operators

Python Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. Following is a table which shows all Python assignment operators.

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
:=	print(x := 3)	x = 3 then print(x)

assignment_operators.py

a = 4-2 # Assign 4-2 in a
print(a)
b = 6
# b += 3 # Increment the value of b by 3 and then assign it to b
b *= 3 # Multiplies the value of b by 3 and then assign it to b
print(b)

Output

2
18

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Comparison (Relational) Operators

Comparison or Relational 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

d = 5 == 5
print(d)
# Output: True

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Logical Operators

Python logical operators are used to combine two or more conditions and check the final result. There are following logical operators supported by Python language.

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	Reverse the result	not(x < 5 and x < 10)

logical_operators.py

# Truth table of 'or'
print("True or False is ", True or False)
print("True or True is ", True or True)
print("False or True is ", False or True)
print("False or False is ", False or False)

# Truth table of 'and'
print("True and False is ", True and False)
print("True and True is ", True and True)
print("False and True is ", False and True)
print("False and False is ", False and False)

print(not(True))
print(not(False))

Output

True or False is  True
True or True is  True
False or True is  True
False or False is  False
True and False is  False
True and True is  True
False and True is  False
False and False is  False
False
True

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Bitwise Operators

Python Bitwise operator works on bits and performs bit by bit operation. These 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 leftmost bits fall off	x << 2
>>	Signed right shift	Shift right by pushing copies of the leftmost bit in from the left, letting rightmost bits fall off	x >> 2

bitwise_operators.py

a = 10 # 1010 in binary
b = 4 # 0100 in binary

print(f"a & b = {a & b}") # 1010 & 0100 = 0000 (0)
print(f"a | b = {a | b}") # 1010 | 0100 = 1110 (14)
print(f"a ^ b = {a ^ b}") # 1010 ^ 0100 = 1110 (14)

print(f"~a = {~a}") # Inverts the bits of 1010, gives -(a+1), i.e., -11
print(f"a << 1 = {a << 1}") # Left shifts bits of 1010 to 10100 (20)
print(f"a >> 1 = {a >> 1}") # Right shifts bits of 1010 to 0101 (5)

Output

a & b = 0
a | b = 14
a ^ b = 14
~a = -11
a << 1 = 20
a >> 1 = 5

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Membership Operators

Python’s membership operators test for membership in a sequence, such as strings, lists, or tuples.

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

membership_operators.py

my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
my_string = "Hello, Akash"

print(6 in my_list)
print("Akash" in my_string)

print(10 not in my_list)
print("Python" not in my_list)

Output

False
True
True
True

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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

identity_operators.py

x = 5
y = 5
z = [1, 2, 3]
w = [1, 2, 3]

print(x is y) # True, since x and y point to the same object in memory
print(z is w) # False, since z and w are different objects, even though their contents are the same

print(x is not y) # False, because x and y are the same object
print(z is not w) # True, since z and w are different objects

Output

True
False
False
True

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Practice Questions on Python Operators

Practice Questions

Task: Write a Python program that takes two integers a and b, and a list lst of integers. Using only operators and perform the following:

1. Perform all arithmetic operations between a and b and store the results.
2. Update the value of a using at least three different assignment operators.
3. Compare a and b using all six comparison operators and store the results as booleans.
4. Use logical operators (and, or, not) with the comparison results.
5. Perform bitwise operations on a and b.
6. Check membership of a and b in the list lst.

Output: Print all the results in a clean, labeled format (e.g., Sum: 30, a in lst: True, etc.).

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Example Input:

a = 10
b = 20
lst = [5, 10, 15, 20, 25]

Note

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