Integers (Python)

Definition

Integers (int) in Python are whole numbers without decimals.

Why It Matters

In programming, integers represent perfect counting and discrete quantities. Using integers ensures you maintain precision without the rounding errors associated with floating-point math, which is critical for indexing, counting, and logic where exact whole numbers are required.

Core Concepts

• Operations: +, -, *, ** (exponent), // (floor division), % (modulo). Note that standard division / always results in a float.
• Mixed Operations: Operations involving both an int and a float will always result in a float.
• Readability: Underscores can be used as thousands separators in code (e.g., 1_000_000), which Python ignores during execution.

# Integer operations
count = 10
total = count + 5
large_number = 1_000_000  # Readable underscore separator

Connected Concepts

• Floats (Python)
• Variables (Python)
• Dictionaries (Python)
• Lists (Python)