In Python, an operator is a special symbol that performs an operation on one or more values, called operands. For example, in 5 + 3, the symbol '+' is an operator and 5 and 3 are operands. Python provides several types of operators for different kinds of operations — arithmetic, relational (comparison), logical, assignment, bitwise, membership and identity operators. This guide explains each type of operator in Python with examples.
An operator is a symbol that performs an operation on operands.
Python has seven main types of operators.
Arithmetic operators: +, -, *, /, %, **, //.
Relational (comparison) operators give True or False: ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=.
Logical operators: and, or, not.
Membership operators: in, not in (check presence in a sequence).
Identity operators: is, is not (check if two variables refer to the same object).
Logical operators: used to combine conditional statements. and (True if both are true), or (True if at least one is true), not (reverses the result). Example: (5 > 3) and (2 < 4) gives True.
Assignment operators: used to assign values to variables. = (assign), += , -= , *= , /= , %= , **= , //= (compound assignment). Example: x = 5; x += 3 makes x = 8.
Bitwise operators: work on the binary (bit) form of numbers. & (AND), | (OR), ^ (XOR), ~ (NOT), << (left shift), >> (right shift). Example: 5 & 3 = 1.
Membership operators: check whether a value is present in a sequence (like a list, string or tuple). in (True if the value is found), not in (True if the value is not found). Example: 'a' in 'apple' gives True; 5 not in [1, 2, 3] gives True.
Identity operators: check whether two variables refer to the same object in memory. is (True if both refer to the same object), is not (True if they do not). Example: if x = [1,2] and y = x, then x is y gives True.
So Python has seven main types of operators: arithmetic, relational, logical, assignment, bitwise, membership and identity.
Python has seven main types of operators: (1) arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /, %, **, //), (2) relational/comparison operators (==, !=, >, <, >=, <=), (3) logical operators (and, or, not), (4) assignment operators (=, +=, -=, etc.), (5) bitwise operators (&, |, ^, ~, <<, >>), (6) membership operators (in, not in), and (7) identity operators (is, is not).
Arithmetic operators perform mathematical calculations. They are + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division), % (modulus/remainder), ** (exponent/power) and // (floor division). For example, 7 % 2 gives 1 and 2 ** 3 gives 8.
Membership operators (in, not in) check whether a value exists in a sequence such as a list or string — for example, 'a' in 'apple' is True. Identity operators (is, is not) check whether two variables refer to the same object in memory — for example, if y = x, then x is y is True.
Logical operators are used to combine conditional (True/False) statements. They are 'and' (True only if both conditions are true), 'or' (True if at least one condition is true), and 'not' (which reverses the result). For example, (5 > 3) and (2 < 4) gives True.
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