Add Two Numbers in Python

Adding two numbers in Python is one of the most basic tasks, where we need to combine their values to get a total. In this article, we will explore different ways to add two numbers in Python using various operators and built-in functions.

Using Arithmetic Operator

To add two numerical values in Python, we can use the addition operator, represented by the "+" symbol. It is one of the arithmetic operators in Python that performs the addition operation.

Example

Here is the basic example that adds the two numbers using the addition operator (+) ?

# Assign values to the variables 
a = 7
b = 3

# Add two numbers using the addition operator
result = a + b

# Display the results 
print("Addition of two numbers:", result)

On executing the above program, we will get the following output ?

Addition of two numbers: 10

Direct Addition in Print Statement

Instead of storing the numbers and resultant value in variables, we can directly add two numbers within the print() function ?

print("Addition of two numbers:", 2 + 6)

Here is the output of the above program ?

Addition of two numbers: 8

Using the Assignment Operator

In Python, += symbol is called the augmented assignment operator, which performs both the addition and assignment operation in one statement.

Example

The following example adds two numbers using the augmented assignment operator ?

# Assign values to the variables 
a = 7
b = 3

# Add b to a using the assignment operator
a += b
print("Addition of two numbers:", a)

On executing the above program, we will get the following output ?

Addition of two numbers: 10

Using the sum() Function

In Python, sum() is a built-in function that can be used to add two numbers. This function takes an iterable containing numerical values and returns their sum.

Example

In this example, we pass a list of two numbers to the sum() function to perform the addition ?

# Assign values to the variables 
a = 7
b = 3

# Add two numbers using the sum() function
result = sum([a, b])
print("Addition of two numbers:", result)

On executing the above program, we will get the following output ?

Addition of two numbers: 10

Using User Input

You can also add two numbers taken from user input using the input() function ?

# Get input from user
num1 = float(input("Enter first number: "))
num2 = float(input("Enter second number: "))

# Add the numbers
result = num1 + num2
print("Sum:", result)

When you run this code and enter values, it will output the sum accordingly.

Comparison

Conclusion

The + operator is the most common way to add two numbers in Python. Use += when you need to modify an existing variable, and sum() when working with multiple values in a list or other iterable.