4) Division operator: /
Let's jump into the console to work with some numbers and math operators.
Run empty console and hit repl button, which you already know. You should get an empty input field: input 2+2, and hit enter. What's the number you've got? Now, using the same field, subtract 5 out of 10, using subtraction operator: – Let's also multiply 5 by 5, using the multiplication operator: * Finally, let's divide 10 by 2, using the division operator: /
4 Division Without Remainder
Let's talk about division without remainder in Python. Did you notice that we've got a fraction when we divided 10 by 2, which was 5.0? But what if we need to get an integer? To get that, all we need is to use a double division operator – // Try it out. Open the input field, write 10//2, and hit enter. What number have you got now?
Python handles calculation order, which has no difference from the order you've learned in math classes. Can you calculate (5+5)*3, then write it into the input field and check if you were right? Here is how Python will calculate it:
First, Python will calculate whatever is in brackets, following the order: first multiplication, then division, then addition, then subtraction. After that, Python will calculate whatever is around brackets, following the same order as above (multiplication, division, addition, subtraction)
Hence, Python will add 5 and 5, which will result in 10. And multiply 10 by 3, which will result in 30. Was your answer – 30? Or was it something else?)
By this time, we've learned print function, variables, and numbers in Python. Let's combine them all!
Let's write an example with numbers, save its result in a variable, and then display it. Here is how it looks like:
result = 2+2
print(result)
Guess what the output will be? Please take the above code and run it in the console to check it out.
Let's break it down:
1) First, we declared a variable, giving it the name "result" and the value "1 + 1";
2) Then we went down one line, wrote the print function, and passed the name of our variable in its brackets;
3) When we ran the code, Python calculated the value of the variable by adding 2 + 2;
4) The calculation returned 4, and Python assigned this value to the variable "result";