Numbers in Python

Python provides various ways to represent numeric data in the code. It is achieved through Python's three main numeric data types, namely Int, Float and Complex.

Numeric Data Types

The Numeric Data Types are used to represent numbers in the code. These Data Types are further divided into three types:

  1. Integer Type -It includes positive or negative whole numbers. Integer can be of any length as there is no limit in Python on the length of an integer. 
    			

x = 10	#Integer Literal

print(type(x))

    Output:

    <class 'int'>
  2. Float Type - It includes real numbers represented in a floating-point representation. It is accurate up to 15 decimal points. 
    			

z = 5.5	#Float Literal

print(type(z))

				
    			

<class 'float'>
  3. Complex Type - It includes numbers with a real and imaginary part. 
    			

y = 3 + 5j	#Complex Literal
print(type(y))

    Output:

    <class 'complex'>

Number System in Python

Python can handle numbers represented through different number systems. It supports Binary, Hexadecimal and Octal number systems.

Binary Numbers

Binary numbers are represented in the form of powers of 2. In Python, numbers starting with 0b are recognised as Binary numbers. Like this

			

number = 0b1100

print(number)
number = 0b110110

print(number)
number = 0b1110111

print(number)
number = 0b11001

print(number)
number = 0b100010

print(number)

Output:

12 54 119 25 34

Hexadecimal Numbers

Hexadecimal numbers are represented in the form of powers of 16. In Python, numbers starting with 0x are recognised as Hexadecimal numbers. Like this

			

number = 0x15

print(number)
number = 0x131

print(number)
number = 0x1123

print(number)
number = 0x1401

print(number)
number = 0x105

print(number)

Output:

21 305 4387 5121 261

Octal Numbers

Octal numbers are represented in the form of powers of 8. In Python, numbers starting with 0o are recognised as Octal numbers. Like this

			

number = 0o15

print(number)
number = 0o7

print(number)
number = 0o1123

print(number)
number = 0o12

print(number)
number = 0o175

print(number)

Output:

13 7 595 10 125

Arithmetic Operations on Integer and Float Data Type

Arithmetic operators perform the usual arithmetic operations we are familiar with, like addition, subtraction, division, etc. Arithmetic Operators in Python come in 2 forms. These are

  1. Unary Operators -These work on a single operand.
  2. Binary Operators -These work on two operands.

Unary Arithmetic Operators

Operator Operation Example
Unary Plus (+) Returns the value of the operand

Let x = 10

Then +x means 10

Let x = -10

Then +x means -10
Unary Minus (-) Returns the value of the operand with the negated sign

Let x = 10

Then -x means -10

Let x = -10

Then -x means 10

Binary Arithmetic Operators

Operator Operation Example
Addition (+) Returns the sum of operands

1 + 2 = 3

5.0 + 3 = 8.0

2.5 + 3.5 = 6.0

“A” + “B” = “AB”

[5,6,7] + [8,9] = [5,6,7,8,9]

(1,2,3,4) + (‘Bus’,’Truck’) = (1,2,3,4,’Bus’,’Truck’)
Subtraction (-) Subtracts the 2nd operand from the 1st operand

6 - 5 = 1

1.0 - 3 = -2.0

2.5 - 3.5 = -1.0
Division (/) Divides the 1st operand by the 2nd operand and returns the quotient

10 / 4 = 2.5

10.0 / 5 = 2.0

1.0 / 0.3 = 3.3333333333333335
Modulus (%) Divides the 1st operand by the 2nd operand and returns the remainder

5 % 2 = 1

10.0 % 4 = 2.0

12.0 % 7.0 = 5.0
Multiplication (*) Returns the product of the two operands

2 * 3 = 6

-2.2 * 2 = -4.4

6.2 * 4.5 = 27.900000000000002

"Hello"*2 = “HelloHello”
Exponent (**) Returns the result as 1st operand raised to the power as 2nd operand

5**2 = 25

2.5**3 = 15.625

10.5**3.2 = 1852.7027964066515
Truncated Division(//) Divides the 1st operand by the 2nd operand and returns the whole part of the quotient

10 // 4 = 2

10.25 // 4 = 2.0

-10 // 6.0 = -1.0

If you notice in the above examples, the result of an operation is implicitly type casted to the type of operand which is bigger in terms of byte size. For example

5.0 * 2 = 10.0(float) ( not 10(int) )

Arithmetic Operations on Complex Data Type

We can perform addition and subtraction operations on Complex Data types in Python. Like this

			

a = 1 + 6j
b = 7 + 24j

print(a+b)

print(a-b)

Output:

(8+30j) (-6-18j)

Functions

These are the available functions that work with numbers in Python :

Function Description
int Type casts a given float or string containing numbers to an integer type and returns an integer.
float Type casts a given integer or string containing numbers to float type and returns a floating-point number.
complex Type casts a given integer, float or string containing numbers to a complex type and returns a complex number with real and imaginary part.
abs Returns the absolute value of the argument.
round Returns the given number rounded to the given precision in decimal digits.
pow Returns the given number raised to a specified power.
hex Returns the hexadecimal representation of an integer.
oct Returns an octal representation of an integer.