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Fred Drakef6669171998-05-06 19:52:49 +00001\chapter{Expressions and conditions}
2\index{expression}
3\index{condition}
4
5{\bf Note:} In this and the following chapters, extended BNF notation
6will be used to describe syntax, not lexical analysis.
7\index{BNF}
8
9This chapter explains the meaning of the elements of expressions and
10conditions. Conditions are a superset of expressions, and a condition
11may be used wherever an expression is required by enclosing it in
12parentheses. The only places where expressions are used in the syntax
13instead of conditions is in expression statements and on the
14right-hand side of assignment statements; this catches some nasty bugs
15like accidentally writing \verb@x == 1@ instead of \verb@x = 1@.
16\indexii{assignment}{statement}
17
18The comma plays several roles in Python's syntax. It is usually an
19operator with a lower precedence than all others, but occasionally
20serves other purposes as well; e.g. it separates function arguments,
21is used in list and dictionary constructors, and has special semantics
22in \verb@print@ statements.
23\index{comma}
24
25When (one alternative of) a syntax rule has the form
26
27\begin{verbatim}
28name: othername
29\end{verbatim}
30
31and no semantics are given, the semantics of this form of \verb@name@
32are the same as for \verb@othername@.
33\index{syntax}
34
35\section{Arithmetic conversions}
36\indexii{arithmetic}{conversion}
37
38When a description of an arithmetic operator below uses the phrase
39``the numeric arguments are converted to a common type'',
40this both means that if either argument is not a number, a
41\verb@TypeError@ exception is raised, and that otherwise
42the following conversions are applied:
43\exindex{TypeError}
44\indexii{floating point}{number}
45\indexii{long}{integer}
46\indexii{plain}{integer}
47
48\begin{itemize}
49\item first, if either argument is a floating point number,
50 the other is converted to floating point;
51\item else, if either argument is a long integer,
52 the other is converted to long integer;
53\item otherwise, both must be plain integers and no conversion
54 is necessary.
55\end{itemize}
56
57\section{Atoms}
58\index{atom}
59
60Atoms are the most basic elements of expressions. Forms enclosed in
61reverse quotes or in parentheses, brackets or braces are also
62categorized syntactically as atoms. The syntax for atoms is:
63
64\begin{verbatim}
65atom: identifier | literal | enclosure
66enclosure: parenth_form|list_display|dict_display|string_conversion
67\end{verbatim}
68
69\subsection{Identifiers (Names)}
70\index{name}
71\index{identifier}
72
73An identifier occurring as an atom is a reference to a local, global
74or built-in name binding. If a name is assigned to anywhere in a code
75block (even in unreachable code), and is not mentioned in a
76\verb@global@ statement in that code block, then it refers to a local
77name throughout that code block. When it is not assigned to anywhere
78in the block, or when it is assigned to but also explicitly listed in
79a \verb@global@ statement, it refers to a global name if one exists,
80else to a built-in name (and this binding may dynamically change).
81\indexii{name}{binding}
82\index{code block}
83\stindex{global}
84\indexii{built-in}{name}
85\indexii{global}{name}
86
87When the name is bound to an object, evaluation of the atom yields
88that object. When a name is not bound, an attempt to evaluate it
89raises a \verb@NameError@ exception.
90\exindex{NameError}
91
92\subsection{Literals}
93\index{literal}
94
95Python knows string and numeric literals:
96
97\begin{verbatim}
98literal: stringliteral | integer | longinteger | floatnumber
99\end{verbatim}
100
101Evaluation of a literal yields an object of the given type (string,
102integer, long integer, floating point number) with the given value.
103The value may be approximated in the case of floating point literals.
104See section \ref{literals} for details.
105
106All literals correspond to immutable data types, and hence the
107object's identity is less important than its value. Multiple
108evaluations of literals with the same value (either the same
109occurrence in the program text or a different occurrence) may obtain
110the same object or a different object with the same value.
111\indexiii{immutable}{data}{type}
112
113(In the original implementation, all literals in the same code block
114with the same type and value yield the same object.)
115
116\subsection{Parenthesized forms}
117\index{parenthesized form}
118
119A parenthesized form is an optional condition list enclosed in
120parentheses:
121
122\begin{verbatim}
123parenth_form: "(" [condition_list] ")"
124\end{verbatim}
125
126A parenthesized condition list yields whatever that condition list
127yields.
128
129An empty pair of parentheses yields an empty tuple object. Since
130tuples are immutable, the rules for literals apply here.
131\indexii{empty}{tuple}
132
133(Note that tuples are not formed by the parentheses, but rather by use
134of the comma operator. The exception is the empty tuple, for which
135parentheses {\em are} required --- allowing unparenthesized ``nothing''
136in expressions would cause ambiguities and allow common typos to
137pass uncaught.)
138\index{comma}
139\indexii{tuple}{display}
140
141\subsection{List displays}
142\indexii{list}{display}
143
144A list display is a possibly empty series of conditions enclosed in
145square brackets:
146
147\begin{verbatim}
148list_display: "[" [condition_list] "]"
149\end{verbatim}
150
151A list display yields a new list object.
152\obindex{list}
153
154If it has no condition list, the list object has no items. Otherwise,
155the elements of the condition list are evaluated from left to right
156and inserted in the list object in that order.
157\indexii{empty}{list}
158
159\subsection{Dictionary displays} \label{dict}
160\indexii{dictionary}{display}
161
162A dictionary display is a possibly empty series of key/datum pairs
163enclosed in curly braces:
164\index{key}
165\index{datum}
166\index{key/datum pair}
167
168\begin{verbatim}
169dict_display: "{" [key_datum_list] "}"
170key_datum_list: key_datum ("," key_datum)* [","]
171key_datum: condition ":" condition
172\end{verbatim}
173
174A dictionary display yields a new dictionary object.
175\obindex{dictionary}
176
177The key/datum pairs are evaluated from left to right to define the
178entries of the dictionary: each key object is used as a key into the
179dictionary to store the corresponding datum.
180
181Restrictions on the types of the key values are listed earlier in
182section \ref{types}.
183Clashes between duplicate keys are not detected; the last
184datum (textually rightmost in the display) stored for a given key
185value prevails.
186\exindex{TypeError}
187
188\subsection{String conversions}
189\indexii{string}{conversion}
190\indexii{reverse}{quotes}
191\indexii{backward}{quotes}
192\index{back-quotes}
193
194A string conversion is a condition list enclosed in reverse (or
195backward) quotes:
196
197\begin{verbatim}
198string_conversion: "`" condition_list "`"
199\end{verbatim}
200
201A string conversion evaluates the contained condition list and
202converts the resulting object into a string according to rules
203specific to its type.
204
205If the object is a string, a number, \verb@None@, or a tuple, list or
206dictionary containing only objects whose type is one of these, the
207resulting string is a valid Python expression which can be passed to
208the built-in function \verb@eval()@ to yield an expression with the
209same value (or an approximation, if floating point numbers are
210involved).
211
212(In particular, converting a string adds quotes around it and converts
213``funny'' characters to escape sequences that are safe to print.)
214
215It is illegal to attempt to convert recursive objects (e.g. lists or
216dictionaries that contain a reference to themselves, directly or
217indirectly.)
218\obindex{recursive}
219
220The built-in function \verb@repr()@ performs exactly the same
221conversion in its argument as enclosing it it reverse quotes does.
222The built-in function \verb@str()@ performs a similar but more
223user-friendly conversion.
224\bifuncindex{repr}
225\bifuncindex{str}
226
227\section{Primaries} \label{primaries}
228\index{primary}
229
230Primaries represent the most tightly bound operations of the language.
231Their syntax is:
232
233\begin{verbatim}
234primary: atom | attributeref | subscription | slicing | call
235\end{verbatim}
236
237\subsection{Attribute references}
238\indexii{attribute}{reference}
239
240An attribute reference is a primary followed by a period and a name:
241
242\begin{verbatim}
243attributeref: primary "." identifier
244\end{verbatim}
245
246The primary must evaluate to an object of a type that supports
247attribute references, e.g. a module or a list. This object is then
248asked to produce the attribute whose name is the identifier. If this
249attribute is not available, the exception \verb@AttributeError@ is
250raised. Otherwise, the type and value of the object produced is
251determined by the object. Multiple evaluations of the same attribute
252reference may yield different objects.
253\obindex{module}
254\obindex{list}
255
256\subsection{Subscriptions}
257\index{subscription}
258
259A subscription selects an item of a sequence (string, tuple or list)
260or mapping (dictionary) object:
261\obindex{sequence}
262\obindex{mapping}
263\obindex{string}
264\obindex{tuple}
265\obindex{list}
266\obindex{dictionary}
267\indexii{sequence}{item}
268
269\begin{verbatim}
270subscription: primary "[" condition "]"
271\end{verbatim}
272
273The primary must evaluate to an object of a sequence or mapping type.
274
275If it is a mapping, the condition must evaluate to an object whose
276value is one of the keys of the mapping, and the subscription selects
277the value in the mapping that corresponds to that key.
278
279If it is a sequence, the condition must evaluate to a plain integer.
280If this value is negative, the length of the sequence is added to it
281(so that, e.g. \verb@x[-1]@ selects the last item of \verb@x@.)
282The resulting value must be a nonnegative integer smaller than the
283number of items in the sequence, and the subscription selects the item
284whose index is that value (counting from zero).
285
286A string's items are characters. A character is not a separate data
287type but a string of exactly one character.
288\index{character}
289\indexii{string}{item}
290
291\subsection{Slicings}
292\index{slicing}
293\index{slice}
294
295A slicing (or slice) selects a range of items in a sequence (string,
296tuple or list) object:
297\obindex{sequence}
298\obindex{string}
299\obindex{tuple}
300\obindex{list}
301
302\begin{verbatim}
303slicing: primary "[" [condition] ":" [condition] "]"
304\end{verbatim}
305
306The primary must evaluate to a sequence object. The lower and upper
307bound expressions, if present, must evaluate to plain integers;
308defaults are zero and the sequence's length, respectively. If either
309bound is negative, the sequence's length is added to it. The slicing
310now selects all items with index \var{k} such that
311\code{\var{i} <= \var{k} < \var{j}} where \var{i}
312and \var{j} are the specified lower and upper bounds. This may be an
313empty sequence. It is not an error if \var{i} or \var{j} lie outside the
314range of valid indexes (such items don't exist so they aren't
315selected).
316
317\subsection{Calls} \label{calls}
318\index{call}
319
320A call calls a callable object (e.g. a function) with a possibly empty
321series of arguments:\footnote{The new syntax for keyword arguments is
322not yet documented in this manual. See chapter 12 of the Tutorial.}
323\obindex{callable}
324
325\begin{verbatim}
326call: primary "(" [condition_list] ")"
327\end{verbatim}
328
329The primary must evaluate to a callable object (user-defined
330functions, built-in functions, methods of built-in objects, class
331objects, and methods of class instances are callable). If it is a
332class, the argument list must be empty; otherwise, the arguments are
333evaluated.
334
335A call always returns some value, possibly \verb@None@, unless it
336raises an exception. How this value is computed depends on the type
337of the callable object. If it is:
338
339\begin{description}
340
341\item[a user-defined function:] the code block for the function is
342executed, passing it the argument list. The first thing the code
343block will do is bind the formal parameters to the arguments; this is
344described in section \ref{function}. When the code block executes a
345\verb@return@ statement, this specifies the return value of the
346function call.
347\indexii{function}{call}
348\indexiii{user-defined}{function}{call}
349\obindex{user-defined function}
350\obindex{function}
351
352\item[a built-in function or method:] the result is up to the
353interpreter; see the library reference manual for the descriptions of
354built-in functions and methods.
355\indexii{function}{call}
356\indexii{built-in function}{call}
357\indexii{method}{call}
358\indexii{built-in method}{call}
359\obindex{built-in method}
360\obindex{built-in function}
361\obindex{method}
362\obindex{function}
363
364\item[a class object:] a new instance of that class is returned.
365\obindex{class}
366\indexii{class object}{call}
367
368\item[a class instance method:] the corresponding user-defined
369function is called, with an argument list that is one longer than the
370argument list of the call: the instance becomes the first argument.
371\obindex{class instance}
372\obindex{instance}
373\indexii{instance}{call}
374\indexii{class instance}{call}
375
376\end{description}
377
378\section{Unary arithmetic operations}
379\indexiii{unary}{arithmetic}{operation}
380\indexiii{unary}{bit-wise}{operation}
381
382All unary arithmetic (and bit-wise) operations have the same priority:
383
384\begin{verbatim}
385u_expr: primary | "-" u_expr | "+" u_expr | "~" u_expr
386\end{verbatim}
387
388The unary \verb@"-"@ (minus) operator yields the negation of its
389numeric argument.
390\index{negation}
391\index{minus}
392
393The unary \verb@"+"@ (plus) operator yields its numeric argument
394unchanged.
395\index{plus}
396
397The unary \verb@"~"@ (invert) operator yields the bit-wise inversion
398of its plain or long integer argument. The bit-wise inversion of
399\verb@x@ is defined as \verb@-(x+1)@.
400\index{inversion}
401
402In all three cases, if the argument does not have the proper type,
403a \verb@TypeError@ exception is raised.
404\exindex{TypeError}
405
406\section{Binary arithmetic operations}
407\indexiii{binary}{arithmetic}{operation}
408
409The binary arithmetic operations have the conventional priority
410levels. Note that some of these operations also apply to certain
411non-numeric types. There is no ``power'' operator, so there are only
412two levels, one for multiplicative operators and one for additive
413operators:
414
415\begin{verbatim}
416m_expr: u_expr | m_expr "*" u_expr
417 | m_expr "/" u_expr | m_expr "%" u_expr
418a_expr: m_expr | aexpr "+" m_expr | aexpr "-" m_expr
419\end{verbatim}
420
421The \verb@"*"@ (multiplication) operator yields the product of its
422arguments. The arguments must either both be numbers, or one argument
423must be a plain integer and the other must be a sequence. In the
424former case, the numbers are converted to a common type and then
425multiplied together. In the latter case, sequence repetition is
426performed; a negative repetition factor yields an empty sequence.
427\index{multiplication}
428
429The \verb@"/"@ (division) operator yields the quotient of its
430arguments. The numeric arguments are first converted to a common
431type. Plain or long integer division yields an integer of the same
432type; the result is that of mathematical division with the `floor'
433function applied to the result. Division by zero raises the
434\verb@ZeroDivisionError@ exception.
435\exindex{ZeroDivisionError}
436\index{division}
437
438The \verb@"%"@ (modulo) operator yields the remainder from the
439division of the first argument by the second. The numeric arguments
440are first converted to a common type. A zero right argument raises
441the \verb@ZeroDivisionError@ exception. The arguments may be floating
442point numbers, e.g. \verb@3.14 % 0.7@ equals \verb@0.34@. The modulo
443operator always yields a result with the same sign as its second
444operand (or zero); the absolute value of the result is strictly
445smaller than the second operand.
446\index{modulo}
447
448The integer division and modulo operators are connected by the
449following identity: \verb@x == (x/y)*y + (x%y)@. Integer division and
450modulo are also connected with the built-in function \verb@divmod()@:
451\verb@divmod(x, y) == (x/y, x%y)@. These identities don't hold for
452floating point numbers; there a similar identity holds where
453\verb@x/y@ is replaced by \verb@floor(x/y)@).
454
455The \verb@"+"@ (addition) operator yields the sum of its arguments.
456The arguments must either both be numbers, or both sequences of the
457same type. In the former case, the numbers are converted to a common
458type and then added together. In the latter case, the sequences are
459concatenated.
460\index{addition}
461
462The \verb@"-"@ (subtraction) operator yields the difference of its
463arguments. The numeric arguments are first converted to a common
464type.
465\index{subtraction}
466
467\section{Shifting operations}
468\indexii{shifting}{operation}
469
470The shifting operations have lower priority than the arithmetic
471operations:
472
473\begin{verbatim}
474shift_expr: a_expr | shift_expr ( "<<" | ">>" ) a_expr
475\end{verbatim}
476
477These operators accept plain or long integers as arguments. The
478arguments are converted to a common type. They shift the first
479argument to the left or right by the number of bits given by the
480second argument.
481
482A right shift by \var{n} bits is defined as division by
483\code{pow(2,\var{n})}. A left shift by \var{n} bits is defined as
484multiplication with \code{pow(2,\var{n})}; for plain integers there is
485no overflow check so this drops bits and flips the sign if the result
486is not less than \code{pow(2,31)} in absolute value.
487
488Negative shift counts raise a \verb@ValueError@ exception.
489\exindex{ValueError}
490
491\section{Binary bit-wise operations}
492\indexiii{binary}{bit-wise}{operation}
493
494Each of the three bitwise operations has a different priority level:
495
496\begin{verbatim}
497and_expr: shift_expr | and_expr "&" shift_expr
498xor_expr: and_expr | xor_expr "^" and_expr
499or_expr: xor_expr | or_expr "|" xor_expr
500\end{verbatim}
501
502The \verb@"&"@ operator yields the bitwise AND of its arguments, which
503must be plain or long integers. The arguments are converted to a
504common type.
505\indexii{bit-wise}{and}
506
507The \verb@"^"@ operator yields the bitwise XOR (exclusive OR) of its
508arguments, which must be plain or long integers. The arguments are
509converted to a common type.
510\indexii{bit-wise}{xor}
511\indexii{exclusive}{or}
512
513The \verb@"|"@ operator yields the bitwise (inclusive) OR of its
514arguments, which must be plain or long integers. The arguments are
515converted to a common type.
516\indexii{bit-wise}{or}
517\indexii{inclusive}{or}
518
519\section{Comparisons}
520\index{comparison}
521
522Contrary to C, all comparison operations in Python have the same
523priority, which is lower than that of any arithmetic, shifting or
524bitwise operation. Also contrary to C, expressions like
525\verb@a < b < c@ have the interpretation that is conventional in
526mathematics:
527\index{C}
528
529\begin{verbatim}
530comparison: or_expr (comp_operator or_expr)*
531comp_operator: "<"|">"|"=="|">="|"<="|"<>"|"!="|"is" ["not"]|["not"] "in"
532\end{verbatim}
533
534Comparisons yield integer values: 1 for true, 0 for false.
535
536Comparisons can be chained arbitrarily, e.g. \code{x < y <= z} is
537equivalent to \code{x < y and y <= z}, except that \code{y} is
538evaluated only once (but in both cases \code{z} is not evaluated at all
539when \code{x < y} is found to be false).
540\indexii{chaining}{comparisons}
541
542Formally, if \var{a}, \var{b}, \var{c}, \ldots, \var{y}, \var{z} are
543expressions and \var{opa}, \var{opb}, \ldots, \var{opy} are comparison
544operators, then \var{a opa b opb c} \ldots \var{y opy z} is equivalent
545to \var{a opa b} \code{and} \var{b opb c} \code{and} \ldots \code{and}
546\var{y opy z}, except that each expression is evaluated at most once.
547
548Note that \var{a opa b opb c} doesn't imply any kind of comparison
549between \var{a} and \var{c}, so that e.g.\ \code{x < y > z} is
550perfectly legal (though perhaps not pretty).
551
552The forms \verb@<>@ and \verb@!=@ are equivalent; for consistency with
553C, \verb@!=@ is preferred; where \verb@!=@ is mentioned below
554\verb@<>@ is also implied.
555
556The operators {\tt "<", ">", "==", ">=", "<="}, and {\tt "!="} compare
557the values of two objects. The objects needn't have the same type.
558If both are numbers, they are coverted to a common type. Otherwise,
559objects of different types {\em always} compare unequal, and are
560ordered consistently but arbitrarily.
561
562(This unusual definition of comparison is done to simplify the
563definition of operations like sorting and the \verb@in@ and
564\verb@not@ \verb@in@ operators.)
565
566Comparison of objects of the same type depends on the type:
567
568\begin{itemize}
569
570\item
571Numbers are compared arithmetically.
572
573\item
574Strings are compared lexicographically using the numeric equivalents
575(the result of the built-in function \verb@ord@) of their characters.
576
577\item
578Tuples and lists are compared lexicographically using comparison of
579corresponding items.
580
581\item
582Mappings (dictionaries) are compared through lexicographic
583comparison of their sorted (key, value) lists.%
584\footnote{This is expensive since it requires sorting the keys first,
585but about the only sensible definition. An earlier version of Python
586compared dictionaries by identity only, but this caused surprises
587because people expected to be able to test a dictionary for emptiness
588by comparing it to {\tt \{\}}.}
589
590\item
591Most other types compare unequal unless they are the same object;
592the choice whether one object is considered smaller or larger than
593another one is made arbitrarily but consistently within one
594execution of a program.
595
596\end{itemize}
597
598The operators \verb@in@ and \verb@not in@ test for sequence
599membership: if \var{y} is a sequence, \code{\var{x} in \var{y}} is
600true if and only if there exists an index \var{i} such that
601\code{\var{x} = \var{y}[\var{i}]}.
602\code{\var{x} not in \var{y}} yields the inverse truth value. The
603exception \verb@TypeError@ is raised when \var{y} is not a sequence,
604or when \var{y} is a string and \var{x} is not a string of length one.%
605\footnote{The latter restriction is sometimes a nuisance.}
606\opindex{in}
607\opindex{not in}
608\indexii{membership}{test}
609\obindex{sequence}
610
611The operators \verb@is@ and \verb@is not@ test for object identity:
612\var{x} \code{is} \var{y} is true if and only if \var{x} and \var{y}
613are the same object. \var{x} \code{is not} \var{y} yields the inverse
614truth value.
615\opindex{is}
616\opindex{is not}
617\indexii{identity}{test}
618
619\section{Boolean operations} \label{Booleans}
620\indexii{Boolean}{operation}
621
622Boolean operations have the lowest priority of all Python operations:
623
624\begin{verbatim}
625condition: or_test | lambda_form
626or_test: and_test | or_test "or" and_test
627and_test: not_test | and_test "and" not_test
628not_test: comparison | "not" not_test
629lambda_form: "lambda" [parameter_list]: condition
630\end{verbatim}
631
632In the context of Boolean operations, and also when conditions are
633used by control flow statements, the following values are interpreted
634as false: \verb@None@, numeric zero of all types, empty sequences
635(strings, tuples and lists), and empty mappings (dictionaries). All
636other values are interpreted as true.
637
638The operator \verb@not@ yields 1 if its argument is false, 0 otherwise.
639\opindex{not}
640
641The condition \var{x} \verb@and@ \var{y} first evaluates \var{x}; if
642\var{x} is false, its value is returned; otherwise, \var{y} is
643evaluated and the resulting value is returned.
644\opindex{and}
645
646The condition \var{x} \verb@or@ \var{y} first evaluates \var{x}; if
647\var{x} is true, its value is returned; otherwise, \var{y} is
648evaluated and the resulting value is returned.
649\opindex{or}
650
651(Note that \verb@and@ and \verb@or@ do not restrict the value and type
652they return to 0 and 1, but rather return the last evaluated argument.
653This is sometimes useful, e.g. if \verb@s@ is a string that should be
654replaced by a default value if it is empty, the expression
655\verb@s or 'foo'@ yields the desired value. Because \verb@not@ has to
656invent a value anyway, it does not bother to return a value of the
657same type as its argument, so e.g. \verb@not 'foo'@ yields \verb@0@,
658not \verb@''@.)
659
660Lambda forms (lambda expressions) have the same syntactic position as
661conditions. They are a shorthand to create anonymous functions; the
662expression {\em {\tt lambda} arguments{\tt :} condition}
663yields a function object that behaves virtually identical to one
664defined with
665{\em {\tt def} name {\tt (}arguments{\tt ): return} condition}.
666See section \ref{function} for the syntax of
667parameter lists. Note that functions created with lambda forms cannot
668contain statements.
669\label{lambda}
670\indexii{lambda}{expression}
671\indexii{lambda}{form}
672\indexii{anonmymous}{function}
673
674\section{Expression lists and condition lists}
675\indexii{expression}{list}
676\indexii{condition}{list}
677
678\begin{verbatim}
679expression_list: or_expr ("," or_expr)* [","]
680condintion_list: condition ("," condition)* [","]
681\end{verbatim}
682
683The only difference between expression lists and condition lists is
684the lowest priority of operators that can be used in them without
685being enclosed in parentheses; condition lists allow all operators,
686while expression lists don't allow comparisons and Boolean operators
687(they do allow bitwise and shift operators though).
688
689Expression lists are used in expression statements and assignments;
690condition lists are used everywhere else where a list of
691comma-separated values is required.
692
693An expression (condition) list containing at least one comma yields a
694tuple. The length of the tuple is the number of expressions
695(conditions) in the list. The expressions (conditions) are evaluated
696from left to right. (Condition lists are used syntactically is a few
697places where no tuple is constructed but a list of values is needed
698nevertheless.)
699\obindex{tuple}
700
701The trailing comma is required only to create a single tuple (a.k.a. a
702{\em singleton}); it is optional in all other cases. A single
703expression (condition) without a trailing comma doesn't create a
704tuple, but rather yields the value of that expression (condition).
705\indexii{trailing}{comma}
706
707(To create an empty tuple, use an empty pair of parentheses:
708\verb@()@.)
709
710\section{Summary}
711
712The following table summarizes the operator precedences in Python,
713from lowest precedence (least binding) to highest precedence (most
714binding). Operators in the same box have the same precedence. Unless
715the syntax is explicitly given, operators are binary. Operators in
716the same box group left to right (except for comparisons, which
717chain from left to right --- see above).
718
719\begin{center}
720\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
721\hline
722\code{or} & Boolean OR \\
723\hline
724\code{and} & Boolean AND \\
725\hline
726\code{not} \var{x} & Boolean NOT \\
727\hline
728\code{in}, \code{not} \code{in} & Membership tests \\
729\code{is}, \code{is} \code{not} & Identity tests \\
730\code{<}, \code{<=}, \code{>}, \code{>=}, \code{<>}, \code{!=}, \code{=} &
731 Comparisons \\
732\hline
733\code{|} & Bitwise OR \\
734\hline
735\code{\^} & Bitwise XOR \\
736\hline
737\code{\&} & Bitwise AND \\
738\hline
739\code{<<}, \code{>>} & Shifts \\
740\hline
741\code{+}, \code{-} & Addition and subtraction \\
742\hline
743\code{*}, \code{/}, \code{\%} & Multiplication, division, remainder \\
744\hline
745\code{+\var{x}}, \code{-\var{x}} & Positive, negative \\
746\code{\~\var{x}} & Bitwise not \\
747\hline
748\code{\var{x}.\var{attribute}} & Attribute reference \\
749\code{\var{x}[\var{index}]} & Subscription \\
750\code{\var{x}[\var{index}:\var{index}]} & Slicing \\
751\code{\var{f}(\var{arguments}...)} & Function call \\
752\hline
753\code{(\var{expressions}\ldots)} & Binding or tuple display \\
754\code{[\var{expressions}\ldots]} & List display \\
755\code{\{\var{key}:\var{datum}\ldots\}} & Dictionary display \\
756\code{`\var{expression}\ldots`} & String conversion \\
757\hline
758\end{tabular}
759\end{center}