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Community Data Science Workshops (Fall 2014)/Day 0 tutorial
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===Division=== 4 / 2 1 / 2 Hey now! That last result is probably not what you expected. What's going on here is that integer divison produces an integer. You need a number that knows about the decimal point to get a decimal out of division: 1.0 / 2 This means you have to be careful when manipulating fractions. If you were doing some baking and needed to add 3/4 of a cup of flour and 1/4 of a cup of flour, we know in our heads that 3/4 + 1/4 = 1 cup. But try that at the Python prompt: 3/4 + 1/4 What do you need to do to get the right answer? Use data types that understand decimals for each of the divisions: 3.0/4 + 1.0/4 3.0/4.0 + 1.0/4.0 The two previous expressions produce the same result. You only need to make one of the numbers in each fraction have a decimal. When the Python interpreter goes to do the division, it notices that one of the numbers in the fraction cares about decimals and says "that means I have to make the other number care about decimals too".
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