Python: Visual QuickStart Guide, Third Edition

2. Arithmetic, Strings, and Variables

In This Chapter

The Interactive Command Shell

Integer Arithmetic

Floating Point Arithmetic

Other Math Functions

Strings

String Concatenation

Getting Help

Converting Between Types

Variables and Values

Assignment Statements

How Variables Refer to Values

Multiple Assignment

The first step in learning how to program is to understand the basic Python data types: integers (whole numbers), floating point numbers (numbers with a decimal point), and strings. All programs use these (and other) data types, so it is important to have a good grasp of their basic uses.

Strings, in particular, are used in so many different kinds of programs that Python provides a tremendous amount of support for them. In this chapter, ...