Python a &= b meaning?

Question

What does the &= operator mean in Python, and can you give me a working example?

I am trying to understand the __iand__ operator.

I just d

Answer 1

It is a shorthand for:

a = a & b

& is bitwise and (see link for further explanation) if a and b are either int or long.

Otherwise, the statement is equivalent to:

a = a.__iand__(b)

if __iand__ is defined for a.