Python as a calculator
Python is an incredibly powerful calculator. By leveraging the math
library, numpy
, and scipy
, Python typically outperforms pre-programmed calculators. In later chapters, you will learn how to use the numpy
and scipy
libraries. For now, we’ll introduce the calculator tools that most people use daily.
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation are core operations. In computer science, the modulus operator and integer division are essential as well, so we’ll cover them here.
The modulus
operator is the remainder in mathematical division. Modular arithmetic is also called clock arithmetic. For instance, in mod5, which is a modulus of 5, we count 0,1,2,3,4,0,1,2,3,4,0,1... This goes in a circle, like the hands on a clock, which uses mod12.
The difference between division and integer division depends on the language. When dividing the integer 9 by the integer 4, some languages return 2; others return 2.25. In your case...