Python’s Modulo Operator
A short tutorial on things I learned last week
In Python, the modulo operator (signified as %) is one of seven arithmetic operators along with multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, exponentiation, and floor division. While reading through a blog on it, I learned some interesting facts about modulo that I’ll share here.
The basic application of the modulo is to represent the remainder after the division of one number — the numerator — by another number — the denominator.
5 % 2 is 1Two goes into five two times with a remainder of 1.
Just like regular math, there will be an error if 0 is the denominator.
And modulo can be used with floats as well!
An alternative to the modulo operator is to use the math library:
Interestingly, the math.fmod(x,y) is preferred over the modulo operator when working with floats. The precision is better.
Additionally, a negative float or integer can be used with the modulo operator or math.fmod(). The result takes the sign of the denominator, not the numerator. Key to keep in mind!
Python also has a built-in function called the divmod(a,b) that will return the quotient and remainder as a tuple when two, non-complex numbers are provided in the argument.
Modulo is an excellent way to determine if a number is even or odd:
Finally, modulo can be used to evaluate code at specific intervals in conjunction with enumerate():
