Assignment Operators in Python

Assignment operators in Python are used to assign values to variables. While the basic assignment operator is =, there are also compound assignment operators that combine an operation with assignment, allowing for more concise code.

Basic Assignment Operator

• =: The basic assignment operator assigns the value on the right to the variable on the left.

Example of Basic Assignment

x = 10
print(x)  # Output: 10

Compound Assignment Operators

These operators perform an operation on the variable and then assign the result back to that variable.

Examples of Compound Assignment Operators

1. Addition Assignment (+=)

x = 10
x += 5  # Equivalent to x = x + 5
print(x)  # Output: 15

2. Subtraction Assignment (-=)

x = 10
x -= 3  # Equivalent to x = x - 3
print(x)  # Output: 7

3. Multiplication Assignment (*=)

x = 4
x *= 2  # Equivalent to x = x * 2
print(x)  # Output: 8

4. Division Assignment (/=)

x = 20
x /= 4  # Equivalent to x = x / 4
print(x)  # Output: 5.0 (result is a float)

5. Modulus Assignment (%=)

x = 10
x %= 3  # Equivalent to x = x % 3
print(x)  # Output: 1

6. Exponentiation Assignment (**=)

x = 3
x **= 2  # Equivalent to x = x ** 2
print(x)  # Output: 9

7. Floor Division Assignment (//=)

x = 10
x //= 3  # Equivalent to x = x // 3
print(x)  # Output: 3

Using Assignment Operators with Other Data Types

Example with Lists

You can use the += operator to append elements to a list.

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
my_list += [4, 5]  # Equivalent to my_list = my_list + [4, 5]
print(my_list)  # Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Example with Strings

You can also use += to concatenate strings.

text = "Hello"
text += " World!"  # Equivalent to text = text + " World!"
print(text)  # Output: "Hello World!"

Summary of Assignment Operators:

• =: Basic assignment operator.
• +=: Adds and assigns.
• -=: Subtracts and assigns.
• *=: Multiplies and assigns.
• /=: Divides and assigns (result is a float).
• %=: Modulus and assigns.
• **=: Exponentiation and assigns.
• //=: Floor division and assigns.

These assignment operators help to simplify your code by combining operations with assignment in a more concise manner.