What's the Difference Between `/` and `//` for Division in Python?

The Difference Between / and // for Division in Python

In Python, the / and // operators are both used for division, but there are some important differences between the two.

Python 2.x

In Python 2.x, both / and // perform integer division, which means that the result is truncated to the nearest whole number. For example:

>>> 6/3
2
>>> 6//3
2

Python 3.x

In Python 3.x, the / operator performs floating-point division, which means that the result is a floating-point number. The // operator performs floor division, which means that the result is truncated to the nearest whole number towards negative infinity. For example:

>>> 6/3
2.0
>>> 6//3
2

Using from __future__ import division in Python 2.x

You can use the from __future__ import division statement in Python 2.x to change the behavior of the / operator to perform floating-point division. For example:

from __future__ import division

>>> 6/3
2.0

Floor Division

The // operator can be useful for performing floor division, which is sometimes also called integer division. Floor division rounds the result down to the nearest whole number towards negative infinity. For example:

>>> 5//2
2
>>> -5//2
-3

Conclusion

The / and // operators are both used for division in Python, but there are some important differences between the two. In Python 2.x, both operators perform integer division, but in Python 3.x, the / operator performs floating-point division and the // operator performs floor division. You can also use the from __future__ import division statement in Python 2.x to change the behavior of the / operator to perform floating-point division.

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