Complex Numbers in Python 🐍

Most general-purpose programming languages have either no support or limited support for complex numbers. Python is a rare exception because it comes with complex numbers built in.

The quickest way to define a complex number in Python is by typing its literal directly in the source code:
>>> z1 = 1 + 2j

You can also use a built-in Python function, complex(). It accepts two numeric parameters. The first one represents the real part, while the second one represents the imaginary part denoted with the letter j in the literal you saw in the example above:

>>> z2 = complex(1, 2)
>>> z1 == z2
True

To get the real and imaginary parts of a complex number in Python, you can reach for the corresponding .real and .imag attributes:

>>> z2.imag
2.0

Note that both properties are read-only because complex numbers are immutable, so trying to assign a new value to either of them will fail.

🔗In-depth tutorial on complex numbers by RealPython

#tutorial #complex