databyss wrote: > I have a simple program and the output isn't what I expect. Could > somebody please explain why? > > Here's the code: > > #simple program > print "v = 2" > v = 2 > print "v**v = 2**2 =", v**v > print "v**v**v = 2**2**2 =", v**v**v > print "v**v**v**v = 2**2**2**2 =", v**v**v**v > #end program > > Here's the output: > > v = 2 > v**v = 2**2 = 4 > v**v**v = 2**2**2 = 16 > v**v**v**v = 2**2**2**2 = 65536 > > I would expect 2**2**2**2 to be 256
Exponentiation is right-associative. I.e. 2**2**2**2 == 2**(2**(2**2)) The reason is that left-associativity is better written with multiplication. (x**y)**z == x**(y*z) -- Robert Kern "I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth." -- Umberto Eco -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
