what is the difference between "&" and "and" in Python?

Question

The first code gives True but the second gives an error saying "TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for &: 'str' and 'int'".

What is the difference between "&" and "and" operator in Python? Isn't it the same?

student = "Justin"

first code

print(student == "Justin" and 1 == 1)

second code

print(student == "Justin" & 1 == 1)

`and` is a boolean and, `&` is a bitwise and, and it had a higher precedence — juanpa.arrivillaga, May 22 '21 at 01:05
A good explanation https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-and-and-in-python/ — sagar1025, May 22 '21 at 01:09

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered May 22 '21 at 01:06

1

& is the bit-AND operator.

1 & 1 = 1
3 & 2 = 2
2 & 1 = 0

while and is the boolean operator.

You can use & for boolean expression and get correct answer since True is equivalent to 1 and False is 0, 1 & 0 = 0. 0 is equivalent to False and Python did a type casting to Boolean. That's why you get boolean result when using & for booleans

answered May 22 '21 at 01:06

Tuan Chau

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In python, you can also customize the operator for a class. For example, adding `def __and__(...)` to `Foo` class, you can use `Foo() & something` – Tuan Chau May 22 '21 at 01:12
there is no type casting... – juanpa.arrivillaga May 22 '21 at 02:08

what is the difference between "&" and "and" in Python?

1 Answers1