Difference Between 'and' and 'OR' Operators in Python

The OR and (|) are logical operators in Python. The difference between these two is that OR is a Logical OR operator, and | is a Bitwise OR Operator. Both operators are used to perform different operations. In this article, we will explore the behavior of these operators and their differences.

OR Operator in Python

The OR operator in Python returns true if one of the operands is true and false if both operands are false. This operator needs two values or operands to perform the operation and return the result.

OR Operator Example

The following is an example of an OR operator in Python. In the example below, both variables have been assigned Boolean values, and based on these values, the OR operator prints the resultant text.

is_hungry = False
is_thirsty = True

if is_hungry or is_thirsty:
   print("Time for a snack or a drink!")
else:
   print("All good for now!")

Following is the output of the above program -

Time for a snack or a drink!

The Pipe (|) Operator in Python

The | (pipe) symbol represents the Bitwise OR Operator in Python. This operator operates over the bits. It compares the binary representation of equal-length bit patterns. If both bits in the same position are 0, the result is 0, and if one or both are 1, the result will be 1.

Example of | Operator

The following is a simple example of the Bitwise OR operator. The Bitwise OR Operator compares the bits of a and b, and it returns 6(0110 in binary) because the second and third bits from the right are 1, and the rest are 0.

a=4
b=6
print(a|b)

Output

6

Difference Between OR and | Operator

In the above section, we have understood the concept and working of these two operators. In this section, we will see some differences between the OR and | operators.