What Do the `and` and `or` Operators Return in Python?

Conditional Operators: Return Values of and/or

In Python, the and and or operators evaluate logical expressions and return one of the two values. However, this behavior is not applicable to all situations.

The not operator, which inverts a boolean expression, always returns a boolean value (True or False). On the other hand, and and or operators return one of the operands, not a pure boolean value.

For example, the following expression:

0 or 42

Evaluates to 42, which is the first truthy operand. Similarly, the expression:

0 and 42

Evaluates to 0, which is the first falsy operand.

This behavior allows for concise and versatile logical statements. For instance, the following expression:

if user_name or guest_name:
    # Perform some action

Checks if either user_name or guest_name is not empty, allowing for a more streamlined conditional statement.

Therefore, it's crucial to remember that and and or operators return operands, while not returns a pure boolean value. This understanding ensures proper implementation of logical expressions in Python.

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