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Basic Data Types in Python

by John Sturtz  14 Comments  basics python

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Table of Contents
Integers
Floating-Point Numbers
Complex Numbers
Strings
Escape Sequences in Strings
Raw Strings
Triple-Quoted Strings
Boolean Type, Boolean Context, and “Truthiness”
Built-In Functions
Math
Type Conversion
Iterables and Iterators
Composite Data Type
Classes, Attributes, and Inheritance
Input/Output
Variables, References, and Scope
Miscellaneous
Conclusion

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Python code. It’s time to dig into the Python
Python
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language. First up is a discussion of the basic data types that are built into Python.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this tutorial:

You’ll learn about several basic numeric, string, and Boolean types that are built into Python. By the end of this
tutorial, you’ll be familiar with what objects of these types look like, and how to represent them.
You’ll also get an overview of Python’s built-in functions. These are pre-written chunks of code you can call to
do useful things. You have already seen the built-in print() function, but there are many others.

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Integers
In Python 3, there is e ectively no limit to how long an integer value can be. Of course, it is constrained by the amount
of memory your system has, as are all things, but beyond that an integer can be as long as you need it to be:

Python >>>

>>> print(123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123 + 1)
123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123124

Python interprets a sequence of decimal digits without any prefix to be a decimal number:

Python >>>

>>> print(10)
10

The following strings can be prepended to an integer value to indicate a base other than 10:

Prefix Interpretation Base

0b (zero + lowercase letter 'b') Binary 2

0B (zero + uppercase letter 'B')

0o (zero + lowercase letter 'o') Octal 8

0O (zero + uppercase letter 'O')

0x (zero + lowercase letter 'x') Hexadecimal 16

0X (zero + uppercase letter 'X')

For example:
Python >>>

>>> print(0o10) Improve Your Python

8
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8

>>> print(0x10)
16

>>> print(0b10)
2

For more information on integer values with non-decimal bases, see the following Wikipedia sites: Binary, Octal, and
Hexadecimal.

The underlying type of a Python integer, irrespective of the base used to specify it, is called int:

Python Improve Your Python

>>>

>>> type(10) ...with a fresh 🐍 Python Trick 💌  

<class 'int'>
code snippet every couple of days:
>>> type(0o10)
<class 'int'>
>>> type(0x10) Email Address
<class 'int'>

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Note: This is a good time to mention that if you want to display a value while in a REPL session, you don’t need
to use the print() function. Just typing the value at the >>> prompt and hitting Enter ↩ will display it:

Python >>>

>>> 10
10
>>> 0x10
16
>>> 0b10
2

Many of the examples in this tutorial series will use this feature.

Note that this does not work inside a script file. A value appearing on a line by itself in a script file will not do
anything.

Floating-Point Numbers
The float type in Python designates a floating-point number. float values are specified with a decimal point.
Optionally, the character e or E followed by a positive or negative integer may be appended to specify scientific
notation:

Python >>>

>>> 4.2
4.2
>>> type(4.2)
<class 'float'>
>>> 4.
4.0
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>>> .2
0.2

>>> .4e7
4000000.0
>>> type(.4e7)
<class 'float'>
>>> 4.2e-4
0.00042

Deep Dive: Floating-Point Representation

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The following is a bit more in-depth information on how Python represents floating-point numbers internally.
You can readily use floating-point numbers in Python without understanding them to this level, so don’t worry
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if this seems overly complicated. The information is presented here in case you a fresh 🐍 Python Trick 💌  
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Almost all platforms represent Python float values as 64-bit “double-precision” values, according to the IEEE
754 standard. In that case, the maximum value a floating-point number can have is approximately
Email Address 1.8 ⨉ 10308.
Python will indicate a number greater than that by the string inf:

Python Send Python Tricks » >>>

>>> 1.79e308
1.79e+308
>>> 1.8e308
inf

The closest a nonzero number can be to zero is approximately 5.0 ⨉ 10-324. Anything closer to zero than that is
e ectively zero:

Python >>>

>>> 5e-324
5e-324
>>> 1e-325
0.0

Floating point numbers are represented internally as binary (base-2) fractions. Most decimal fractions cannot
be represented exactly as binary fractions, so in most cases the internal representation of a floating-point
number is an approximation of the actual value. In practice, the di erence between the actual value and the
represented value is very small and should not usually cause significant problems.

Further Reading: For additional information on floating-point representation in Python and the potential
pitfalls involved, see Floating Point Arithmetic: Issues and Limitations in the Python documentation.

Complex Numbers
Complex numbers are specified as <real part>+<imaginary part>j. For example:

Python >>>

>>> 2+3j
(2+3j)
>>> type(2+3j)
<class 'complex'>

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Strings
Strings are sequences of character data. The string type in Python is called str.
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String literals may be delimited using either single or double quotes. All the characters between the opening delimiter
and matching closing delimiter are part of the string: ...with a fresh 🐍 Python Trick 💌  
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Python >>>

>>> print("I am a string.") Email Address

I am a string.
>>> type("I am a string.")
<class 'str'> Send Python Tricks »

>>> print('I am too.')

I am too.
>>> type('I am too.')
<class 'str'>

A string in Python can contain as many characters as you wish. The only limit is your machine’s memory resources. A
string can also be empty:

Python >>>

>>> ''
''

What if you want to include a quote character as part of the string itself? Your first impulse might be to try something
like this:

Python >>>

>>> print('This string contains a single quote (') character.')

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

As you can see, that doesn’t work so well. The string in this example opens with a single quote, so Python assumes
the next single quote, the one in parentheses which was intended to be part of the string, is the closing delimiter. The
final single quote is then a stray and causes the syntax error shown.

If you want to include either type of quote character within the string, the simplest way is to delimit the string with the
other type. If a string is to contain a single quote, delimit it with double quotes and vice versa:

Python >>>

>>> print("This string contains a single quote (') character.")

This string contains a single quote (') character.

>>> print('This string contains a double quote (") character.')

This string contains a double quote (") character.

Escape Sequences in Strings

Sometimes, you want Python to interpret a character or sequence of characters within a string di erently. This may
occur in one of two ways:
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You may want to suppress the special interpretation that certain characters are usually given within a string.
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You may want to suppress the special interpretation that certain characters are usually given within a string.
You may want to apply special interpretation to characters in a string which would normally be taken literally.

You can accomplish this using a backslash (\) character. A backslash character in a string indicates that one or more
characters that follow it should be treated specially. (This is referred to as an escape sequence, because the backslash
causes the subsequent character sequence to “escape” its usual meaning.)

Let’s see how this works.

Suppressing Special Character Meaning

You have already seen the problems you can come up against when you try to include quote characters in a string. If a
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string is delimited by single quotes, you can’t directly specify a single quote character as part of the string because, for
that string, the single quote has special meaning—it terminates the string:
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Python code snippet every couple of days: >>>

>>> print('This string contains a single quote (') character.')

SyntaxError: invalid syntax Email Address

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Specifying a backslash in front of the quote character in a string “escapes” it and causes Python
Python Tricks » its usual
to suppress
special meaning. It is then interpreted simply as a literal single quote character:

Python >>>

>>> print('This string contains a single quote (\') character.')

This string contains a single quote (') character.

The same works in a string delimited by double quotes as well:

Python >>>

>>> print("This string contains a double quote (\") character.")

This string contains a double quote (") character.

The following is a table of escape sequences which cause Python to suppress the usual special interpretation of a
character in a string:

Escape Usual Interpretation of

Sequence Character(s) A er Backslash “Escaped” Interpretation

\' Terminates string with single quote opening delimiter Literal single quote (') character

\" Terminates string with double quote opening delimiter Literal double quote (") character

\newline Terminates input line Newline is ignored

\\ Introduces escape sequence Literal backslash (\) character

Ordinarily, a newline character terminates line input. So pressing Enter ↩ in the middle of a string will cause Python
to think it is incomplete:

Python >>>

>>> print('a

SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

To break up a string over more than one line, include a backslash before each newline, and the newlines will be
ignored:
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Python >>>
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Python >>>

>>> print('a\
... b\
... c')
abc

To include a literal backslash in a string, escape it with a backslash:

Python >>>

>>> print('foo\\bar')
foo\bar

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Applying Special Meaning to Characters code snippet every couple of days:

Next, suppose you need to create a string that contains a tab character in it. Some text editors may allow you to insert
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a tab character directly into your code. But many programmers consider that poor practice, for several reasons:

The computer can distinguish between a tab character and a sequence of space characters, but you can’t. To a
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human reading the code, tab and space characters are visually indistinguishable.
Some text editors are configured to automatically eliminate tab characters by expanding them to the
appropriate number of spaces.
Some Python REPL environments will not insert tabs into code.

In Python (and almost all other common computer languages), a tab character can be specified by the escape
sequence \t:

Python >>>

>>> print('foo\tbar')
foo bar

The escape sequence \t causes the t character to lose its usual meaning, that of a literal t. Instead, the combination is
interpreted as a tab character.

Here is a list of escape sequences that cause Python to apply special meaning instead of interpreting literally:

Escape Sequence “Escaped” Interpretation

\a ASCII Bell (BEL) character

\b ASCII Backspace (BS) character

\f ASCII Formfeed (FF) character

\n ASCII Linefeed (LF) character

\N{<name>} Character from Unicode database with given <name>

\r ASCII Carriage Return (CR) character

\t ASCII Horizontal Tab (TAB) character

\uxxxx Unicode character with 16-bit hex value xxxx

\Uxxxxxxxx Unicode character with 32-bit hex value xxxxxxxx

\v ASCII Vertical Tab (VT) character

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\ooo Character with octal value ooo

Escape Sequence “Escaped” Interpretation
\xhh Character with hex value hh

Examples:

Python >>>

>>> print("a\tb")
a b
>>> print("a\141\x61")
aaa
>>> print("a\nb")
a Improve Your Python
b
>>> print('\u2192 \N{rightwards arrow}') ...with a fresh 🐍 Python Trick 💌  
→ → code snippet every couple of days:

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This type of escape sequence is typically used to insert characters that are not readily generated from the keyboard or
are not easily readable or printable.
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Raw Strings
A raw string literal is preceded by r or R, which specifies that escape sequences in the associated string are not
translated. The backslash character is le in the string:

Python >>>

>>> print('foo\nbar')
foo
bar
>>> print(r'foo\nbar')
foo\nbar

>>> print('foo\\bar')
foo\bar
>>> print(R'foo\\bar')
foo\\bar

Triple-Quoted Strings
There is yet another way of delimiting strings in Python. Triple-quoted strings are delimited by matching groups of
three single quotes or three double quotes. Escape sequences still work in triple-quoted strings, but single quotes,
double quotes, and newlines can be included without escaping them. This provides a convenient way to create a
string with both single and double quotes in it:

Python >>>

>>> print('''This string has a single (') and a double (") quote.''')
This string has a single (') and a double (") quote.

Because newlines can be included without escaping them, this also allows for multiline strings:

Python >>>

>>> print("""This is a
string that spans
across several lines""")
This is a
string that spans
across several lines

You will see in the upcoming tutorial on Python Program Structure how triple-quoted strings can be used to add an
explanatory comment to Python code.
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Boolean Type, Boolean Context, and “Truthiness”

Python 3 provides a Boolean data type. Objects of Boolean type may have one of two values, True or False:

Python >>>

>>> type(True)
<class 'bool'>
>>> type(False)
<class 'bool'>

As you will see in upcoming tutorials, expressions in Python are o en evaluated in Boolean context, meaning they are

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interpreted to represent truth or falsehood. A value that is true in Boolean context is sometimes said to be “truthy,”
and one that is false in Boolean context is said to be “falsy.” (You may also see “falsy” spelled “falsey.”)
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The “truthiness” of an object of Boolean type is self-evident: Boolean objects thatcode
are equal
snippettoevery
True are truthy
couple of (true),
days:
and those equal to False are falsy (false). But non-Boolean objects can be evaluated in Boolean context as well and
determined to be true or false. Email Address

You will learn more about evaluation of objects in Boolean context when you encounter logical operators in the
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Built-In Functions
The Python interpreter supports many functions that are built-in: sixty-eight, as of Python 3.6. You will cover many of
these in the following discussions, as they come up in context.

For now, a brief overview follows, just to give a feel for what is available. See the Python documentation on built-in
functions for more detail. Many of the following descriptions refer to topics and concepts that will be discussed in
future tutorials.

Math
Function Description

abs() Returns absolute value of a number

divmod() Returns quotient and remainder of integer division

max() Returns the largest of the given arguments or items in an iterable

min() Returns the smallest of the given arguments or items in an iterable

pow() Raises a number to a power

round() Rounds a floating-point value

sum() Sums the items of an iterable

Type Conversion
Function Description

ascii() Returns a string containing a printable representation of an object

bin() Converts an integer to a binary string

bool() Converts an argument to a Boolean value Improve Your Python

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Function
chr() Returns string representation of character given by integer argument
Description

complex() Returns a complex number constructed from arguments

float() Returns a floating-point object constructed from a number or string

hex() Converts an integer to a hexadecimal string

int() Returns an integer object constructed from a number or string

Converts an integer to an octal string

oct()
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repr() Returns a string containing a printable representation of an object
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str() Returns a string version of an object

type() Returns the type of an object or creates a new type object Send Python Tricks »

Iterables and Iterators

Function Description

all() Returns True if all elements of an iterable are true

any() Returns True if any elements of an iterable are true

enumerate() Returns a list of tuples containing indices and values from an iterable

filter() Filters elements from an iterable

iter() Returns an iterator object

len() Returns the length of an object

map() Applies a function to every item of an iterable

next() Retrieves the next item from an iterator

range() Generates a range of integer values

reversed() Returns a reverse iterator

slice() Returns a slice object

sorted() Returns a sorted list from an iterable

zip() Creates an iterator that aggregates elements from iterables

Composite Data Type

Function Description

bytearray() Improve
Creates and returns an object of the bytearray Your Python
class
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Function
bytes()
Description
Creates and returns a bytes object (similar to bytearray, but immutable)

dict() Creates a dict object

frozenset() Creates a frozenset object

list() Creates a list object

object() Creates a new featureless object

set() Creates a set object Improve Your Python

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Classes, Attributes, and Inheritance
Function Description Send Python Tricks »

classmethod() Returns a class method for a function

delattr() Deletes an attribute from an object

getattr() Returns the value of a named attribute of an object

hasattr() Returns True if an object has a given attribute

isinstance() Determines whether an object is an instance of a given class

issubclass() Determines whether a class is a subclass of a given class

property() Returns a property value of a class

setattr() Sets the value of a named attribute of an object

super() Returns a proxy object that delegates method calls to a parent or sibling class

Input/Output
Function Description

format() Converts a value to a formatted representation

input() Reads input from the console

open() Opens a file and returns a file object

print() Prints to a text stream or the console

Variables, References, and Scope

Function Description

dir() Returns a list of names in current local scopeImprove

or a listYour Python
of object attributes
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Function Description
globals() Returns a dictionary representing the current global symbol table

id() Returns the identity of an object

locals() Updates and returns a dictionary representing current local symbol table

vars() Returns __dict__ attribute for a module, class, or object

Miscellaneous Improve Your Python

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callable() Returns True if object appears callable
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compile() Compiles source into a code or AST object

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eval() Evaluates a Python expression

exec() Implements dynamic execution of Python code

hash() Returns the hash value of an object

help() Invokes the built-in help system

memoryview() Returns a memory view object

staticmethod() Returns a static method for a function

__import__() Invoked by the import statement

Conclusion
In this tutorial, you learned about the built-in data types and functions Python provides.

The examples given so far have all manipulated and displayed only constant values. In most programs, you are
usually going to want to create objects that change in value as the program executes.

Head to the next tutorial to learn about Python variables.

 Take the Quiz: Test your knowledge with our interactive “Basic Data Types in Python” quiz. Upon
completion you will receive a score so you can track your learning progress over time:

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About John Sturtz

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Table of Contents
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Floating-Point Numbers
Complex Numbers
Strings
Boolean Type, Boolean Context, and “Truthiness”
Built-In Functions
Conclusion

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Basic Data Types in Python

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