We have an Integer and we need to convert the integer to binary string and print as a result. In this article, we will see how we can convert the integer into binary string using some generally used methods.

Example:

Input : 77
Output : 0b1001101
Explanation: Here, we have integer 77 which we converted into binary string

Integer to Binary String in Python

Below are some of the ways to convert Integer to Binary String in Python:

• Using bin() Function,
• Using format() Function,
• Using bitwise Operator

Integer to Binary String Using bin() function

In this example, The variable `ans` holds the binary string representation of the integer `num` using the `bin()` function, and the result is printed, displaying “The binary string is” followed by the binary string.

Python3

num = 77

ans = bin(num)

# The binary string 'ans' is printed
print(type(num))
print("The binary string is", ans)
print(type(ans))

<class 'int'>
The binary string is 0b1001101
<class 'str'>

Integer to Binary String Using format() Function

In this example, The variable `ans` stores the binary string representation of the integer `num` using the `format()` method with the ‘b’ format specifier, and it is then printed with the message “The binary string is”.

Python3

num = 81

ans = format(num, 'b')
print(type(num))
print("The binary string is", ans)
print(type(ans))

<class 'int'>
The binary string is 1010001
<class 'str'>

Integer to Binary String Using bitwise Operator

In this example, below code , a binary string is manually constructed by iteratively taking the remainder of the number divided by 2 and appending it to the left of the `binary_string`. The process continues until the number becomes zero. The resulting binary representation is then printed using an f-string.

Python3

# Manual conversion with bitwise operations
binary_string = ''
number = 42

while number > 0:
    binary_string = str(number % 2) + binary_string
    number //= 2

# Handle the case when num is 0
binary_result = binary_string if binary_string else '0'

# Example usage
print(type(number))
print(f"The binary representation of {number} is: {binary_result}")
print(type(binary_result))

<class 'int'>
The binary representation of 0 is: 101010
<class 'str'>

Integer to Binary String in Python – FAQs

How to convert Integer to Binary String in Python

You can use the bin() function to convert an integer to a binary string. The bin() function returns a string prefixed with '0b' to indicate that it is a binary representation.

# Convert integer to binary string
num = 42
binary_string = bin(num)
print(binary_string)  # Output: '0b101010'

What built-in functions assist in binary conversion in Python?

• bin(): Converts an integer to a binary string.
• format(): Allows formatting numbers in various ways, including binary representation.
• f-string: Provides a way to format strings using expressions.

# Using format()
binary_string = format(num, 'b')
print(binary_string)  # Output: '101010'

# Using f-string
binary_string = f'{num:b}'
print(binary_string)  # Output: '101010'

How to format binary strings for readability in Python?

You can use string formatting to group binary digits into chunks for better readability. For example, grouping into nibbles (4 bits) or bytes (8 bits).

# Formatting binary string for readability
num = 255
binary_string = f'{num:08b}'  # 8-bit binary representation
print(binary_string)  # Output: '11111111'

# Grouping into nibbles
binary_string = '{:08b}'.format(num)
formatted_binary = ' '.join(binary_string[i:i+4] for i in range(0, len(binary_string), 4))
print(formatted_binary)  # Output: '1111 1111'

What are common applications of binary conversion in Python?

• Data Processing: Binary conversion is used in file manipulation, networking, and data encoding.
• Low-level Programming: Useful in system programming and hardware interfacing.
• Cryptography: Binary representation is essential in encryption algorithms and security protocols.
• Computational Problems: Solving problems involving bitwise operations and binary algorithms.

How to handle large integers during binary conversion in Python?

Python’s bin() function and formatting methods handle large integers seamlessly. However, be mindful of memory usage for extremely large numbers.

# Handling large integers
large_num = 2**100
binary_string = bin(large_num)
print(binary_string)  # Outputs a very long binary string starting with '0b'

Python handles large integers efficiently, but operations on very large numbers might impact performance and readability.