How to Compare Two Binary Numbers in Python

Working with binary numbers is a fundamental aspect of computer science and programming. As such, understanding how to compare these numbers in a programming language like Python is incredibly important. This tutorial will guide you through the process of comparing two binary numbers using Python.

Step 1: Understanding Binary Numbers

A binary number is a number expressed in the base-2 numeral system or binary numeral system. This is a method of mathematical expression that utilizes only two symbols: typically “0” (zero) and “1” (one). Binary numbers are heavily used in computing and digital systems.

Step 2: Converting Binary Numbers to Decimal

In order to accurately compare binary numbers, we will first need to convert them into a decimal format. Python has a function called int() which can do this for us. The int() function takes two parameters: the number we want to convert (as a string), and the base of that number.

Here’s an example of how to use the int function:

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# Convert binary to decimal
decimal_number = int('1010', 2)
print(decimal_number)

Step 3: Comparing Two Binary Numbers

We can now take two binary numbers, convert them to decimal, and then compare them using Python’s standard comparison operators (<, >, ==, !=, etc.). Here’s an example of how to do this:

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# Binary numbers
binary_number1 = '1010'
binary_number2 = '1001'
 
# Convert binary to decimal
decimal_number1 = int(binary_number1, 2)
decimal_number2 = int(binary_number2, 2)
 
# Compare numbers
if decimal_number1 > decimal_number2:
    print(binary_number1,'is greater than', binary_number2)
else:
    print(binary_number1,'is less than', binary_number2)
 
1010 is greater than 1001

Conclusion

This tutorial has shown how to compare two binary numbers in Python by converting them into decimal format and using standard comparison operators. Through this method, we can accurately determine whether one binary number is greater than, less than, or equal to another.