Numbers

Let's start by exploring Python's built-in data types for numbers. Python was designed by a man with a master's degree in mathematics and computer science, so it's only logical that it has amazing support for numbers.

Numbers are immutable objects.

Integers

Python integers have unlimited range, subject only to the available virtual memory. This means that it doesn't really matter how big a number you want to store: as long as it can fit in your computer's memory, Python will take care of it. Integer numbers can be positive, negative, and 0 (zero). They support all the basic mathematical operations, as shown in the following example:

>>> a = 12
>>> b = 3
>>> a + b  # addition
15
>>> b - a  # subtraction
-9
>>> a // b  # integer division
4
>>> a / b  # true division
4.0
>>> a * b  # multiplication
36
>>> b ** a  # power operator
531441
>>> 2 ** 1024  # a very big number, Python handles it gracefully
17976931348623159077293051907890247336179769789423065727343008115...