Python in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

The operator Module

The operator module supplies functions that are equivalent to Python’s operators. These functions are handy in cases where callables must be stored, passed as arguments, or returned as function results. The functions in operator have the same names as the corresponding special methods (covered in Special Methods). Each function is available with two names, with and without leading and trailing double underscores (e.g., both operator.add(a,b) and operator._ _add_ _(a,b) return a+b). Table 15-1 lists the functions supplied by the operator module.

Table 15-1. Functions supplied by the operator module

Method	Signature	Behaves like
abs	abs(a)	abs(a)
add	add(a,b)	a+b
and_	and_(a,b)	a&b
concat	concat(a,b)	a+b
contains	contains(a,b)	b in a
countOf	countOf(a,b)	a.count(b)
delitem	delitem(a,b)	del a[b]
delslice	delslice(a,b,c)	del a[b:c]
div	div(a,b)	a/b
eq	eq(a,b)	a==b
floordiv	floordiv(a,b)	a//b
ge	ge(a,b)	a>=b
getitem	getitem(a,b)	a[b]
getslice	getslice(a,b,c)	a[b:c]
gt	gt(a,b)	a>b
indexOf	indexOf(a,b)	a.index(b)
invert, inv	invert(a), inv(a)	~a
is	is(a,b)	a is b
is_not	is_not(a,b)	a is not b
le	le(a,b)	a<=b
lshift	lshift(a,b)	a<<b
lt	lt(a,b)	a<b
mod	mod(a,b)	a%b
mul	mul(a,b)	a*b
ne	ne(a,b)	a!=b
neg	neg(a)	-a
not_	not_(a)	not a
or_	or_(a,b)	a|b
pos	pos(a)	+a
repeat	repeat(a,b)	a*b
rshift	rshift(a,b)	a>>b
setitem	setitem(a,b,c)	a[b]=c
setslice	setslice(a,b,c,d)	a[b:c]=d
sub	sub(a,b)	a-b
truediv	truediv(a,b)	a/b # "true" div -> no truncation
truth	truth(a)	not not a, bool(a)
xor_	xor(a,b)	a^b

Module operator also supplies two higher-order functions whose results are functions suitable ...