This is the ninth blog on Python for fintch professionals.
Understanding Logical Operators in Python
Logical operators determe whether a given value is true or false. The keywords True and False represent the two boolean values. Alongside these keywords, Python provides a range of comparison operators that help in evaluating expressions.
Comparison Operators
Here’s a rundown of the primary comparison operators in Python:
Equal to (==): Checks if two values are equal.
1 == 1 # Returns True
Not equal to (!=): Checks if two values are not equal.
1 != 1 # Returns False
Less than (<): Evaluates if the left value is less than the right value.
1 < 2 # Returns True
Greater than (>): Evaluates if the left value is greater than the right value.
2 > 1 # Returns True
Less than or equal to (<=): Checks if the left value is less than or equal to the right value.
1 <= 1 # Returns True
Greater than or equal to (>=): Checks if the left value is greater than or equal to the right value.
2 >= 1 # Returns True
When these operators are used in expressions, they yield results of either True or False. It's important to note that in Python, True is equivalent to 1, and False is equivalent to 0. This relationship allows for easy integration of boolean logic in numerical contexts.
Operator Precedence
In Python, logical operators are generally given lower priority than comparison operators. This means that when you have a mix of comparison and logical operations, Python evaluates the comparison first before applying logical operations.
Priority | Operator | Operator Type |
1 | + - (Unary) | |
2 | ** | Arithmetic |
3 | *, /, //, % | |
4 | + - (Binary) | |
5 | <, >, <=, >= | Comparison |
6 | ==, != | Comparison |
Conclusion
Mastering logical and comparison operators allow us to evaluate conditions and control the flow of your programing logic. Remember the relationship between boolean values and their numerical equivalents, as well as the precedence of operators.