What's the Key Difference Between Python Expressions and Statements?

Expressions vs Statements in Python

In Python, code is organized into expressions and statements, each serving distinct purposes. Expressions are primarily used to evaluate and produce a value, while statements encompass a broader range of operations and actions within a program.

Expressions

Expressions consist of operators applied to literals, variables, and function calls. Operators range from arithmetic ( , -, *, /) to boolean (and, or, not), including function calls (), subscripting ([]), and more. Expressions can be evaluated to yield values of different Python types, such as integers, strings, and objects.

Examples of expressions:

3 + 5
map(lambda x: x*x, range(10))
[a.x for a in some_iterable]
yield 7

Statements

Statements encompass a more comprehensive set of constructs that can form complete lines or multiple lines of Python code. They include expressions but extend beyond them to include control flow, function definitions, and other actions that affect the program's execution.

Examples of statements include:

# All of the above expressions
print(42)
if x: do_y()
return
a = 7

Key Differences

The main distinction between expressions and statements is that:

• Expressions evaluate to a value.
• Statements perform actions or modify the program's state.

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