Arithmetic and Logical Operators

Operators are specific symbols used to perform operations on variables and values. In Python, operators are categorized based on the type of operation they perform: arithmetic, comparison, logical, and assignment.

1. Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common mathematical operations.

Operator	Name	Example
`+`	Addition	`x + y`
`-`	Subtraction	`x - y`
`*`	Multiplication	`x * y`
`/`	Division	`x / y` (Always returns a float)
`//`	Floor Division	`x // y` (Returns the largest integer)
`%`	Modulus	`x % y` (Remainder of division)
`**`	Exponentiation	`x ** y` (Power)

2. Comparison Operators

Comparison operators compare two values and return a Boolean (True or False). These are fundamental for decision-making in code.

== Equal
!= Not equal
> Greater than
< Less than
>= Greater than or equal to
<= Less than or equal to

3. Logical Operators

Logical operators are used to combine conditional statements.

and: Returns True if both statements are true.
or: Returns True if at least one statement is true.
not: Reverses the result (True becomes False).

4. Identity and Membership Operators

These are unique to Python and provide a more readable way to check for equality and existence.

is: Returns True if both variables point to the same object in memory (compares memory address, not just value).
in: Returns True if a sequence with the specified value is present in the object.

list1 = [1, 2, 3]
list2 = [1, 2, 3]

print(list1 == list2) # True (Values are the same)
print(list1 is list2) # False (They are different objects in memory)

Interview Pro-Tips: The "Short-Circuit" Logic

In Python, logical operators and and or use Short-Circuit Evaluation.

In A and B, if A is false, Python won't even evaluate B because the result must be false.
In A or B, if A is true, Python won't evaluate B. Understanding this can help you avoid errors (e.g., checking if an object is not None before accessing its attributes).