Help me! I don't understand this operator in Python

Question

I don't know how this works:
2|4=6
3|6=7
4|7=7
1|3=3
somebody can tell me what's the logic here? (And it's name if you know it)

Answer 1

here is an answer i posted a while ago.
what you are looking for is the Bitwise OR operator

Logical operators:
OR ||
takes two conditionals, return true if EITHER is true
AND &&
takes two conditionals, return true if BOTH are true

Bitwise operators:
work on the bit level, compare each bit that build a value and act accordingly

i will use small values which can be represented with 4 bits only.
we will find x on each example

OR | example:
5 | 3 = x
5 = 0101
3 = 0011
x = 0111 = 7 (bits in x are set by the bits of 5,3)

AND & example:
5 & 3 = x
5 = 0101
3 = 0011
x = 0001 = 1

Answer 2

I don't know much about python but I found this online:
| Binary OR It copies a bit if it exists in either operand. Example: (a | b) = 61 (means 0011 1101)
You can find this information and more here: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_basic_operators.htm. Hope it helps😉

Answer 3

And if you want to know why in the world you'd EVER use this...

Status codes are often kept as a 'list of bits' for efficiency, speed, global sharing or convenience (and these bits are often called flags).

Imagine a 3D printer:

STATUS_NOZZLE_HOT=1
STATUS_NOZZLE_OLD=2
STATUS_NOZZLE_JAMMED=4
STATUS_NOZZLE_STARVED=8
STATUS_MEDIA_READY=16
...32, 64, 128

Now 8 panel lights (or LCD icons) can readily be set/extinguished by a single status byte, or you can combine tests:

SVC_FLAGS = (...old | jammed | starved)
# 2|4|8 = 2+4+8 = 14

# One or more flags 'set'?
if STATUS & SVC_FLAGS > 0:
print("Nozzle needs service.")

Answer 4

@Ivan - Added a sample test after you saw it. Heads up.

Answer 5

Thank you! Now I understand