Operators data manipulation tools

Key takeaways

1. An expression is a combination of values (or variables, operators, calls to functions ‒ you will learn about them soon) which evaluates to a certain value, e.g., 1 + 2.

2. Operators are special symbols or keywords which are able to operate on the values and perform (mathematical) operations, e.g., the * operator multiplies two values: x * y.

3. Arithmetic operators in Python: + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (classic division ‒ always returns a float), % (modulus ‒ divides left operand by right operand and returns the remainder of the operation, e.g., 5 % 2 = 1), ** (exponentiation ‒ left operand raised to the power of right operand, e.g., 2 ** 3 = 2 * 2 * 2 = 8), // (floor/integer division ‒ returns a number resulting from division, but rounded down to the nearest whole number, e.g., 3 // 2.0 = 1.0)

4. A unary operator is an operator with only one operand, e.g., -1, or +3.

5. A binary operator is an operator with two operands, e.g., 4 + 5, or 12 % 5.

6. Some operators act before others – the hierarchy of priorities:

   • the ** operator (exponentiation) has the highest priority;
   • then the unary + and - (note: a unary operator to the right of the exponentiation operator binds more strongly, for example: 4 ** -1 equals 0.25)
   • then *, /, //, and %;
   • and, finally, the lowest priority: the binary + and -.

7. Subexpressions in parentheses are always calculated first, e.g., 15 - 1 * (5 * (1 + 2)) = 0.

8. The exponentiation operator uses right-sided binding, e.g., 2 ** 2 ** 3 = 256.

Remember: Data and operators when connected together form expressions. The simplest expression is a literal itself.