This question already has answers here:
How can I force division to be floating point? Division keeps rounding down to 0?
(11 answers)
Closed 4 months ago.
I was trying to normalize a set of numbers from -100 to 0 to a range of 10-100 and was having problems only to notice that even with no variables at all, this does not evaluate the way I would expect it to:
>>> (20-10) / (100-10)
0
Float division doesn't work either:
>>> float((20-10) / (100-10))
0.0
If either side of the division is cast to a float it will work:
>>> (20-10) / float((100-10))
0.1111111111111111
Each side in the first example is evaluating as an int which means the final answer will be cast to an int. Since 0.111 is less than .5, it rounds to 0. It is not transparent in my opinion, but I guess that's the way it is.
What is the explanation?
You're using Python 2.x, where integer divisions will truncate instead of becoming a floating point number.
>>> 1 / 2
0
You should make one of them a float:
>>> float(10 - 20) / (100 - 10)
-0.1111111111111111
or from __future__ import division, which the forces / to adopt Python 3.x's behavior that always returns a float.
>>> from __future__ import division
>>> (10 - 20) / (100 - 10)
-0.1111111111111111
You're putting Integers in so Python is giving you an integer back:
>>> 10 / 90
0
If if you cast this to a float afterwards the rounding will have already been done, in other words, 0 integer will always become 0 float.
If you use floats on either side of the division then Python will give you the answer you expect.
>>> 10 / 90.0
0.1111111111111111
So in your case:
>>> float(20-10) / (100-10)
0.1111111111111111
>>> (20-10) / float(100-10)
0.1111111111111111
In Python 2.7, the / operator is an integer division if inputs are integers:
>>>20/15
1
>>>20.0/15.0
1.33333333333
>>>20.0/15
1.33333333333
In Python 3.3, the / operator is a float division even if the inputs are integer.
>>> 20/15
1.33333333333
>>>20.0/15
1.33333333333
For integer division in Python 3, we will use the // operator.
The // operator is an integer division operator in both Python 2.7 and Python 3.3.
In Python 2.7 and Python 3.3:
>>>20//15
1
Now, see the comparison
>>>a = 7.0/4.0
>>>b = 7/4
>>>print a == b
For the above program, the output will be False in Python 2.7 and True in Python 3.3.
In Python 2.7 a = 1.75 and b = 1.
In Python 3.3 a = 1.75 and b = 1.75, just because / is a float division.
You need to change it to a float BEFORE you do the division. That is:
float(20 - 10) / (100 - 10)
It has to do with the version of python that you use. Basically it adopts the C behavior: if you divide two integers, the results will be rounded down to an integer. Also keep in mind that Python does the operations from left to right, which plays a role when you typecast.
Example:
Since this is a question that always pops in my head when I am doing arithmetic operations (should I convert to float and which number), an example from that aspect is presented:
>>> a = 1/2/3/4/5/4/3
>>> a
0
When we divide integers, not surprisingly it gets lower rounded.
>>> a = 1/2/3/4/5/4/float(3)
>>> a
0.0
If we typecast the last integer to float, we will still get zero, since by the time our number gets divided by the float has already become 0 because of the integer division.
>>> a = 1/2/3/float(4)/5/4/3
>>> a
0.0
Same scenario as above but shifting the float typecast a little closer to the left side.
>>> a = float(1)/2/3/4/5/4/3
>>> a
0.0006944444444444445
Finally, when we typecast the first integer to float, the result is the desired one, since beginning from the first division, i.e. the leftmost one, we use floats.
Extra 1: If you are trying to answer that to improve arithmetic evaluation, you should check this
Extra 2: Please be careful of the following scenario:
>>> a = float(1/2/3/4/5/4/3)
>>> a
0.0
Specifying a float by placing a '.' after the number will also cause it to default to float.
>>> 1 / 2
0
>>> 1. / 2.
0.5
Make at least one of them float, then it will be float division, not integer:
>>> (20.0-10) / (100-10)
0.1111111111111111
Casting the result to float is too late.
In python cv2 not updated the division calculation. so, you must include from __future__ import division in first line of the program.
Either way, it's integer division. 10/90 = 0. In the second case, you're merely casting 0 to a float.
Try casting one of the operands of "/" to be a float:
float(20-10) / (100-10)
You're casting to float after the division has already happened in your second example. Try this:
float(20-10) / float(100-10)
I'm somewhat surprised that no one has mentioned that the original poster might have liked rational numbers to result. Should you be interested in this, the Python-based program Sage has your back. (Currently still based on Python 2.x, though 3.x is under way.)
sage: (20-10) / (100-10)
1/9
This isn't a solution for everyone, because it does do some preparsing so these numbers aren't ints, but Sage Integer class elements. Still, worth mentioning as a part of the Python ecosystem.
Personally I preferred to insert a 1. * at the very beginning. So the expression become something like this:
1. * (20-10) / (100-10)
As I always do a division for some formula like:
accuracy = 1. * (len(y_val) - sum(y_val)) / len(y_val)
so it is impossible to simply add a .0 like 20.0. And in my case, wrapping with a float() may lose a little bit readability.
In Python 3, the “//” operator works as a floor division for integer and float arguments. However, the operator / returns a float value if one of the arguments is a float (this is similar to C++)
eg:
# A Python program to demonstrate the use of
# "//" for integers
print (5//2)
print (-5//2)
Output:
2
-3
# A Python program to demonstrate use of
# "/" for floating point numbers
print (5.0/2)
print (-5.0/2)
Output:
2.5
-2.5
ref: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/division-operator-in-python/
Related
Is there a benefit to using one over the other? In Python 2, they both seem to return the same results:
>>> 6/3
2
>>> 6//3
2
In Python 3.x, 5 / 2 will return 2.5 and 5 // 2 will return 2. The former is floating point division, and the latter is floor division, sometimes also called integer division.
In Python 2.2 or later in the 2.x line, there is no difference for integers unless you perform a from __future__ import division, which causes Python 2.x to adopt the 3.x behavior.
Regardless of the future import, 5.0 // 2 will return 2.0 since that's the floor division result of the operation.
You can find a detailed description at PEP 238: Changing the Division Operator.
Python 2.x Clarification:
To clarify for the Python 2.x line, / is neither floor division nor true division.
/ is floor division when both args are int, but is true division when either of the args are float.
// implements "floor division", regardless of your type. So
1.0/2.0 will give 0.5, but both 1/2, 1//2 and 1.0//2.0 will give 0.
See PEP 238: Changing the Division Operator for details.
/ → Floating point division
// → Floor division
Let’s see some examples in both Python 2.7 and in Python 3.5.
Python 2.7.10 vs. Python 3.5
print (2/3) ----> 0 Python 2.7
print (2/3) ----> 0.6666666666666666 Python 3.5
Python 2.7.10 vs. Python 3.5
print (4/2) ----> 2 Python 2.7
print (4/2) ----> 2.0 Python 3.5
Now if you want to have (in Python 2.7) the same output as in Python 3.5, you can do the following:
Python 2.7.10
from __future__ import division
print (2/3) ----> 0.6666666666666666 # Python 2.7
print (4/2) ----> 2.0 # Python 2.7
Whereas there isn't any difference between floor division in both Python 2.7 and in Python 3.5.
138.93//3 ---> 46.0 # Python 2.7
138.93//3 ---> 46.0 # Python 3.5
4//3 ---> 1 # Python 2.7
4//3 ---> 1 # Python 3.5
As everyone has already answered, // is floor division.
Why this is important is that // is unambiguously floor division, in all Python versions from 2.2, including Python 3.x versions.
The behavior of / can change depending on:
Active __future__ import or not (module-local)
Python command line option, either -Q old or -Q new
>>> print 5.0 / 2
2.5
>>> print 5.0 // 2
2.0
Python 2.7 and other upcoming versions of Python:
Division (/)
Divides left hand operand by right hand operand
Example: 4 / 2 = 2
Floor division (//)
The division of operands where the result is the quotient in which the digits after the decimal point are removed. But if one of the operands is negative, the result is floored, i.e., rounded away from zero (towards negative infinity):
Examples: 9//2 = 4 and 9.0//2.0 = 4.0, -11//3 = -4, -11.0//3 = -4.0
Both / division and // floor division operator are operating in similar fashion.
The double slash, //, is floor division:
>>> 7//3
2
// is floor division. It will always give you the integer floor of the result. The other is 'regular' division.
The previous answers are good. I want to add another point. Up to some values both of them result in the same quotient. After that floor division operator (//) works fine but not division (/) operator:
>>> int(755349677599789174 / 2) # Wrong answer
377674838799894592
>>> 755349677599789174 // 2 # Correct answer
377674838799894587
The answer of the equation is rounded to the next smaller integer or float with .0 as decimal point.
>>>print 5//2
2
>>> print 5.0//2
2.0
>>>print 5//2.0
2.0
>>>print 5.0//2.0
2.0
Python 3.x Clarification
Just to complement some previous answers.
It is important to remark that:
a // b
Is floor division. As in:
math.floor(a/b)
Is not int division. As in:
int(a/b)
Is not round to 0 float division. As in:
round(a/b,0)
As a consequence, the way of behaving is different when it comes to positives an negatives numbers as in the following example:
1 // 2 is 0, as in:
math.floor(1/2)
-1 // 2 is -1, as in:
math.floor(-1/2)
Python 3
Operation
Result
Notes
x / y
quotient of x and y
x // y
floored quotient of x and y
(1)
Notes:
Also referred to as integer division. The resultant value is a whole integer, though the result’s type is not necessarily int. The result is always rounded towards minus infinity: 1//2 is 0, (-1)//2 is -1, 1//(-2) is -1, and (-1)//(-2) is 0.
Python 2
Operation
Result
Notes
x / y
quotient of x and y
(1)
x // y
(floored) quotient of x and y
(4)(5)
Notes:
1. For (plain or long) integer division, the result is an integer. The result is always rounded towards minus infinity: 1/2 is 0, (-1)/2 is -1, 1/(-2) is -1, and (-1)/(-2) is 0. Note that the result is a long integer if either operand is a long integer, regardless of the numeric value.
4. Deprecated since version 2.3: The floor division operator, the modulo operator, and the divmod() function are no longer defined for complex numbers. Instead, convert to a floating point number using the abs() function if appropriate.
5. Also referred to as integer division. The resultant value is a whole integer, though the result’s type is not necessarily int.
Summary
x//y : EXACT integer division
int(x/y) OR math.floor(x/y): INEXACT integer division (but almost correct)
x/y: floating point division (that has the loss of significance)
Remarkable Calculation Result
import math
N = 1004291331219602346 # huge number
print(N//100) #=> 10042913312196023 is correct answer
print(math.floor(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
print(math.ceil(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
print(int(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
Consideration
I think about the evaluation of int(x/y).
At first, Python evaluate the expression x/y and get INEXACT floating number z.
Second, Python evaluate the expression int(z).
We get a wrong result when the loss of significance cannot be ignored.
// is floor division. It will always give you the floor value of the result.
And the other one, /, is the floating-point division.
In the following is the difference between / and //;
I have run these arithmetic operations in Python 3.7.2.
>>> print (11 / 3)
3.6666666666666665
>>> print (11 // 3)
3
>>> print (11.3 / 3)
3.7666666666666667
>>> print (11.3 // 3)
3.0
5.0//2 results in 2.0, and not 2, because the return type of the return value from // operator follows Python coercion (type casting) rules.
Python promotes conversion of lower data type (integer) to higher data type (float) to avoid data loss.
This question already has answers here:
How can I force division to be floating point? Division keeps rounding down to 0?
(11 answers)
Closed 4 months ago.
I was trying to normalize a set of numbers from -100 to 0 to a range of 10-100 and was having problems only to notice that even with no variables at all, this does not evaluate the way I would expect it to:
>>> (20-10) / (100-10)
0
Float division doesn't work either:
>>> float((20-10) / (100-10))
0.0
If either side of the division is cast to a float it will work:
>>> (20-10) / float((100-10))
0.1111111111111111
Each side in the first example is evaluating as an int which means the final answer will be cast to an int. Since 0.111 is less than .5, it rounds to 0. It is not transparent in my opinion, but I guess that's the way it is.
What is the explanation?
You're using Python 2.x, where integer divisions will truncate instead of becoming a floating point number.
>>> 1 / 2
0
You should make one of them a float:
>>> float(10 - 20) / (100 - 10)
-0.1111111111111111
or from __future__ import division, which the forces / to adopt Python 3.x's behavior that always returns a float.
>>> from __future__ import division
>>> (10 - 20) / (100 - 10)
-0.1111111111111111
You're putting Integers in so Python is giving you an integer back:
>>> 10 / 90
0
If if you cast this to a float afterwards the rounding will have already been done, in other words, 0 integer will always become 0 float.
If you use floats on either side of the division then Python will give you the answer you expect.
>>> 10 / 90.0
0.1111111111111111
So in your case:
>>> float(20-10) / (100-10)
0.1111111111111111
>>> (20-10) / float(100-10)
0.1111111111111111
In Python 2.7, the / operator is an integer division if inputs are integers:
>>>20/15
1
>>>20.0/15.0
1.33333333333
>>>20.0/15
1.33333333333
In Python 3.3, the / operator is a float division even if the inputs are integer.
>>> 20/15
1.33333333333
>>>20.0/15
1.33333333333
For integer division in Python 3, we will use the // operator.
The // operator is an integer division operator in both Python 2.7 and Python 3.3.
In Python 2.7 and Python 3.3:
>>>20//15
1
Now, see the comparison
>>>a = 7.0/4.0
>>>b = 7/4
>>>print a == b
For the above program, the output will be False in Python 2.7 and True in Python 3.3.
In Python 2.7 a = 1.75 and b = 1.
In Python 3.3 a = 1.75 and b = 1.75, just because / is a float division.
You need to change it to a float BEFORE you do the division. That is:
float(20 - 10) / (100 - 10)
It has to do with the version of python that you use. Basically it adopts the C behavior: if you divide two integers, the results will be rounded down to an integer. Also keep in mind that Python does the operations from left to right, which plays a role when you typecast.
Example:
Since this is a question that always pops in my head when I am doing arithmetic operations (should I convert to float and which number), an example from that aspect is presented:
>>> a = 1/2/3/4/5/4/3
>>> a
0
When we divide integers, not surprisingly it gets lower rounded.
>>> a = 1/2/3/4/5/4/float(3)
>>> a
0.0
If we typecast the last integer to float, we will still get zero, since by the time our number gets divided by the float has already become 0 because of the integer division.
>>> a = 1/2/3/float(4)/5/4/3
>>> a
0.0
Same scenario as above but shifting the float typecast a little closer to the left side.
>>> a = float(1)/2/3/4/5/4/3
>>> a
0.0006944444444444445
Finally, when we typecast the first integer to float, the result is the desired one, since beginning from the first division, i.e. the leftmost one, we use floats.
Extra 1: If you are trying to answer that to improve arithmetic evaluation, you should check this
Extra 2: Please be careful of the following scenario:
>>> a = float(1/2/3/4/5/4/3)
>>> a
0.0
Specifying a float by placing a '.' after the number will also cause it to default to float.
>>> 1 / 2
0
>>> 1. / 2.
0.5
Make at least one of them float, then it will be float division, not integer:
>>> (20.0-10) / (100-10)
0.1111111111111111
Casting the result to float is too late.
In python cv2 not updated the division calculation. so, you must include from __future__ import division in first line of the program.
Either way, it's integer division. 10/90 = 0. In the second case, you're merely casting 0 to a float.
Try casting one of the operands of "/" to be a float:
float(20-10) / (100-10)
You're casting to float after the division has already happened in your second example. Try this:
float(20-10) / float(100-10)
I'm somewhat surprised that no one has mentioned that the original poster might have liked rational numbers to result. Should you be interested in this, the Python-based program Sage has your back. (Currently still based on Python 2.x, though 3.x is under way.)
sage: (20-10) / (100-10)
1/9
This isn't a solution for everyone, because it does do some preparsing so these numbers aren't ints, but Sage Integer class elements. Still, worth mentioning as a part of the Python ecosystem.
Personally I preferred to insert a 1. * at the very beginning. So the expression become something like this:
1. * (20-10) / (100-10)
As I always do a division for some formula like:
accuracy = 1. * (len(y_val) - sum(y_val)) / len(y_val)
so it is impossible to simply add a .0 like 20.0. And in my case, wrapping with a float() may lose a little bit readability.
In Python 3, the “//” operator works as a floor division for integer and float arguments. However, the operator / returns a float value if one of the arguments is a float (this is similar to C++)
eg:
# A Python program to demonstrate the use of
# "//" for integers
print (5//2)
print (-5//2)
Output:
2
-3
# A Python program to demonstrate use of
# "/" for floating point numbers
print (5.0/2)
print (-5.0/2)
Output:
2.5
-2.5
ref: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/division-operator-in-python/
Is there a benefit to using one over the other? In Python 2, they both seem to return the same results:
>>> 6/3
2
>>> 6//3
2
In Python 3.x, 5 / 2 will return 2.5 and 5 // 2 will return 2. The former is floating point division, and the latter is floor division, sometimes also called integer division.
In Python 2.2 or later in the 2.x line, there is no difference for integers unless you perform a from __future__ import division, which causes Python 2.x to adopt the 3.x behavior.
Regardless of the future import, 5.0 // 2 will return 2.0 since that's the floor division result of the operation.
You can find a detailed description at PEP 238: Changing the Division Operator.
Python 2.x Clarification:
To clarify for the Python 2.x line, / is neither floor division nor true division.
/ is floor division when both args are int, but is true division when either of the args are float.
// implements "floor division", regardless of your type. So
1.0/2.0 will give 0.5, but both 1/2, 1//2 and 1.0//2.0 will give 0.
See PEP 238: Changing the Division Operator for details.
/ → Floating point division
// → Floor division
Let’s see some examples in both Python 2.7 and in Python 3.5.
Python 2.7.10 vs. Python 3.5
print (2/3) ----> 0 Python 2.7
print (2/3) ----> 0.6666666666666666 Python 3.5
Python 2.7.10 vs. Python 3.5
print (4/2) ----> 2 Python 2.7
print (4/2) ----> 2.0 Python 3.5
Now if you want to have (in Python 2.7) the same output as in Python 3.5, you can do the following:
Python 2.7.10
from __future__ import division
print (2/3) ----> 0.6666666666666666 # Python 2.7
print (4/2) ----> 2.0 # Python 2.7
Whereas there isn't any difference between floor division in both Python 2.7 and in Python 3.5.
138.93//3 ---> 46.0 # Python 2.7
138.93//3 ---> 46.0 # Python 3.5
4//3 ---> 1 # Python 2.7
4//3 ---> 1 # Python 3.5
As everyone has already answered, // is floor division.
Why this is important is that // is unambiguously floor division, in all Python versions from 2.2, including Python 3.x versions.
The behavior of / can change depending on:
Active __future__ import or not (module-local)
Python command line option, either -Q old or -Q new
>>> print 5.0 / 2
2.5
>>> print 5.0 // 2
2.0
Python 2.7 and other upcoming versions of Python:
Division (/)
Divides left hand operand by right hand operand
Example: 4 / 2 = 2
Floor division (//)
The division of operands where the result is the quotient in which the digits after the decimal point are removed. But if one of the operands is negative, the result is floored, i.e., rounded away from zero (towards negative infinity):
Examples: 9//2 = 4 and 9.0//2.0 = 4.0, -11//3 = -4, -11.0//3 = -4.0
Both / division and // floor division operator are operating in similar fashion.
The double slash, //, is floor division:
>>> 7//3
2
// is floor division. It will always give you the integer floor of the result. The other is 'regular' division.
The previous answers are good. I want to add another point. Up to some values both of them result in the same quotient. After that floor division operator (//) works fine but not division (/) operator:
>>> int(755349677599789174 / 2) # Wrong answer
377674838799894592
>>> 755349677599789174 // 2 # Correct answer
377674838799894587
The answer of the equation is rounded to the next smaller integer or float with .0 as decimal point.
>>>print 5//2
2
>>> print 5.0//2
2.0
>>>print 5//2.0
2.0
>>>print 5.0//2.0
2.0
Python 3.x Clarification
Just to complement some previous answers.
It is important to remark that:
a // b
Is floor division. As in:
math.floor(a/b)
Is not int division. As in:
int(a/b)
Is not round to 0 float division. As in:
round(a/b,0)
As a consequence, the way of behaving is different when it comes to positives an negatives numbers as in the following example:
1 // 2 is 0, as in:
math.floor(1/2)
-1 // 2 is -1, as in:
math.floor(-1/2)
Python 3
Operation
Result
Notes
x / y
quotient of x and y
x // y
floored quotient of x and y
(1)
Notes:
Also referred to as integer division. The resultant value is a whole integer, though the result’s type is not necessarily int. The result is always rounded towards minus infinity: 1//2 is 0, (-1)//2 is -1, 1//(-2) is -1, and (-1)//(-2) is 0.
Python 2
Operation
Result
Notes
x / y
quotient of x and y
(1)
x // y
(floored) quotient of x and y
(4)(5)
Notes:
1. For (plain or long) integer division, the result is an integer. The result is always rounded towards minus infinity: 1/2 is 0, (-1)/2 is -1, 1/(-2) is -1, and (-1)/(-2) is 0. Note that the result is a long integer if either operand is a long integer, regardless of the numeric value.
4. Deprecated since version 2.3: The floor division operator, the modulo operator, and the divmod() function are no longer defined for complex numbers. Instead, convert to a floating point number using the abs() function if appropriate.
5. Also referred to as integer division. The resultant value is a whole integer, though the result’s type is not necessarily int.
Summary
x//y : EXACT integer division
int(x/y) OR math.floor(x/y): INEXACT integer division (but almost correct)
x/y: floating point division (that has the loss of significance)
Remarkable Calculation Result
import math
N = 1004291331219602346 # huge number
print(N//100) #=> 10042913312196023 is correct answer
print(math.floor(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
print(math.ceil(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
print(int(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
Consideration
I think about the evaluation of int(x/y).
At first, Python evaluate the expression x/y and get INEXACT floating number z.
Second, Python evaluate the expression int(z).
We get a wrong result when the loss of significance cannot be ignored.
// is floor division. It will always give you the floor value of the result.
And the other one, /, is the floating-point division.
In the following is the difference between / and //;
I have run these arithmetic operations in Python 3.7.2.
>>> print (11 / 3)
3.6666666666666665
>>> print (11 // 3)
3
>>> print (11.3 / 3)
3.7666666666666667
>>> print (11.3 // 3)
3.0
5.0//2 results in 2.0, and not 2, because the return type of the return value from // operator follows Python coercion (type casting) rules.
Python promotes conversion of lower data type (integer) to higher data type (float) to avoid data loss.
Is there a benefit to using one over the other? In Python 2, they both seem to return the same results:
>>> 6/3
2
>>> 6//3
2
In Python 3.x, 5 / 2 will return 2.5 and 5 // 2 will return 2. The former is floating point division, and the latter is floor division, sometimes also called integer division.
In Python 2.2 or later in the 2.x line, there is no difference for integers unless you perform a from __future__ import division, which causes Python 2.x to adopt the 3.x behavior.
Regardless of the future import, 5.0 // 2 will return 2.0 since that's the floor division result of the operation.
You can find a detailed description at PEP 238: Changing the Division Operator.
Python 2.x Clarification:
To clarify for the Python 2.x line, / is neither floor division nor true division.
/ is floor division when both args are int, but is true division when either of the args are float.
// implements "floor division", regardless of your type. So
1.0/2.0 will give 0.5, but both 1/2, 1//2 and 1.0//2.0 will give 0.
See PEP 238: Changing the Division Operator for details.
/ → Floating point division
// → Floor division
Let’s see some examples in both Python 2.7 and in Python 3.5.
Python 2.7.10 vs. Python 3.5
print (2/3) ----> 0 Python 2.7
print (2/3) ----> 0.6666666666666666 Python 3.5
Python 2.7.10 vs. Python 3.5
print (4/2) ----> 2 Python 2.7
print (4/2) ----> 2.0 Python 3.5
Now if you want to have (in Python 2.7) the same output as in Python 3.5, you can do the following:
Python 2.7.10
from __future__ import division
print (2/3) ----> 0.6666666666666666 # Python 2.7
print (4/2) ----> 2.0 # Python 2.7
Whereas there isn't any difference between floor division in both Python 2.7 and in Python 3.5.
138.93//3 ---> 46.0 # Python 2.7
138.93//3 ---> 46.0 # Python 3.5
4//3 ---> 1 # Python 2.7
4//3 ---> 1 # Python 3.5
As everyone has already answered, // is floor division.
Why this is important is that // is unambiguously floor division, in all Python versions from 2.2, including Python 3.x versions.
The behavior of / can change depending on:
Active __future__ import or not (module-local)
Python command line option, either -Q old or -Q new
>>> print 5.0 / 2
2.5
>>> print 5.0 // 2
2.0
Python 2.7 and other upcoming versions of Python:
Division (/)
Divides left hand operand by right hand operand
Example: 4 / 2 = 2
Floor division (//)
The division of operands where the result is the quotient in which the digits after the decimal point are removed. But if one of the operands is negative, the result is floored, i.e., rounded away from zero (towards negative infinity):
Examples: 9//2 = 4 and 9.0//2.0 = 4.0, -11//3 = -4, -11.0//3 = -4.0
Both / division and // floor division operator are operating in similar fashion.
The double slash, //, is floor division:
>>> 7//3
2
// is floor division. It will always give you the integer floor of the result. The other is 'regular' division.
The previous answers are good. I want to add another point. Up to some values both of them result in the same quotient. After that floor division operator (//) works fine but not division (/) operator:
>>> int(755349677599789174 / 2) # Wrong answer
377674838799894592
>>> 755349677599789174 // 2 # Correct answer
377674838799894587
The answer of the equation is rounded to the next smaller integer or float with .0 as decimal point.
>>>print 5//2
2
>>> print 5.0//2
2.0
>>>print 5//2.0
2.0
>>>print 5.0//2.0
2.0
Python 3.x Clarification
Just to complement some previous answers.
It is important to remark that:
a // b
Is floor division. As in:
math.floor(a/b)
Is not int division. As in:
int(a/b)
Is not round to 0 float division. As in:
round(a/b,0)
As a consequence, the way of behaving is different when it comes to positives an negatives numbers as in the following example:
1 // 2 is 0, as in:
math.floor(1/2)
-1 // 2 is -1, as in:
math.floor(-1/2)
Python 3
Operation
Result
Notes
x / y
quotient of x and y
x // y
floored quotient of x and y
(1)
Notes:
Also referred to as integer division. The resultant value is a whole integer, though the result’s type is not necessarily int. The result is always rounded towards minus infinity: 1//2 is 0, (-1)//2 is -1, 1//(-2) is -1, and (-1)//(-2) is 0.
Python 2
Operation
Result
Notes
x / y
quotient of x and y
(1)
x // y
(floored) quotient of x and y
(4)(5)
Notes:
1. For (plain or long) integer division, the result is an integer. The result is always rounded towards minus infinity: 1/2 is 0, (-1)/2 is -1, 1/(-2) is -1, and (-1)/(-2) is 0. Note that the result is a long integer if either operand is a long integer, regardless of the numeric value.
4. Deprecated since version 2.3: The floor division operator, the modulo operator, and the divmod() function are no longer defined for complex numbers. Instead, convert to a floating point number using the abs() function if appropriate.
5. Also referred to as integer division. The resultant value is a whole integer, though the result’s type is not necessarily int.
Summary
x//y : EXACT integer division
int(x/y) OR math.floor(x/y): INEXACT integer division (but almost correct)
x/y: floating point division (that has the loss of significance)
Remarkable Calculation Result
import math
N = 1004291331219602346 # huge number
print(N//100) #=> 10042913312196023 is correct answer
print(math.floor(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
print(math.ceil(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
print(int(N/100)) #=> 10042913312196024 is wrong answer
Consideration
I think about the evaluation of int(x/y).
At first, Python evaluate the expression x/y and get INEXACT floating number z.
Second, Python evaluate the expression int(z).
We get a wrong result when the loss of significance cannot be ignored.
// is floor division. It will always give you the floor value of the result.
And the other one, /, is the floating-point division.
In the following is the difference between / and //;
I have run these arithmetic operations in Python 3.7.2.
>>> print (11 / 3)
3.6666666666666665
>>> print (11 // 3)
3
>>> print (11.3 / 3)
3.7666666666666667
>>> print (11.3 // 3)
3.0
5.0//2 results in 2.0, and not 2, because the return type of the return value from // operator follows Python coercion (type casting) rules.
Python promotes conversion of lower data type (integer) to higher data type (float) to avoid data loss.
About half an hour thinking "what am i doing wrong!?" on the 5-lines code.. because Python3 is somehow rounding big integers. Anyone know why there is a problem such:
Python2:
int(6366805760909027985741435139224001 # This is 7**40.
/ 7) == 909543680129861140820205019889143 # 7**39
Python3:
int(6366805760909027985741435139224001
/ 7) == 909543680129861204865300750663680 # I have no idea what this is.
Python 3 is not "rounding big integers". What it does is that it will return a float after division. Hence, in Python 2:
>>> 4/2
2
while in Python 3:
>>> 4/2
2.0
The reason for this is simple. In Python 2, / being integer division when you use integers have some surprising results:
>>> 5/2
2
Ooops. In Python 3 this is fixed:
>>> 5/2
2.5
This means that in Python 3, your division returns a float:
>>> 6366805760909027985741435139224001/7
9.095436801298612e+32
This float has less accuracy than the digits you need.
You then convert this to an integer with int(), and you get a number you don't expect.
You should instead use integer division (in both Python 2 and Python 3):
>>> 6366805760909027985741435139224001//7
909543680129861140820205019889143L
(The trailing L means it's a long integer, in Python 3 the long and the normal integer is merged, so there is no trailing L).
In Python 3 / is floating point division so it may not treat your arguments like integers. Use
//
to do integer division in Python 3.