How to Find the Factorial of a Number Using Python

In this article, we will discuss different methods to find the factorial of a number in python using for, while, ternary operator and math module.

 

While practising Python programming as a beginner, or even during Python interviews, one of the most common programs you will be asked to write is going to be Python factorial. And in this article, we will discuss 5 different ways to find the factorial of a given number using Python. Let’s begin!

Table of Content

• What is a Factorial?
• Methods to Find the Factorial of a Number in Python
  • Using for loop
  • Using while loop
  • Using a ternary operator
  • Using recursion
  • Using math module – factorial()

What is a Factorial?

The factorial of a given number is the product of all positive integers between 1 and the number itself. Mathematically, the factorial of a number is represented by “!”.

For example, the factorial of 6 would be given as –

Note:

• The factorial of negative numbers is not defined.
• The factorial of 0 = 0! = 1.

Methods to Find the Factorial of a Number in Python

Using for loop

In this method, we use a for loop to find the factorial of a non-negative input number n. Remember that the range() function does not include the stop value. Hence, the range of the for loop has to be iterated from 1 to (n+1).

Each number in the defined range is cumulatively multiplied and stored in a variable fact which is initialized to 1, as shown:

#Enter input
n = int(input("Enter input number : "))
 
fact = 1
if n < 0:
    print("Factorial does not exist for negative numbers")
elif n == 0:
    print("The factorial of 0 is 1")
else:
    for i in range(1, n + 1):
        fact = fact * i
    print("The factorial of",n,"is",fact)

Output:

What have we done here?

• Firstly, we take an integer input from the user and store it in the variable n.
• Declare and initialize the variable fact to 1.
• Then, we will use if-elif-else statement to check if the input number is negative, 0, or positive.
• For positive input integers, we will use the for loop and define the range() from 1 to n+1.
• The loop then calculates the factorial of the input number.
• Print the final factorial value stored in the variable fact.

Must Check: What is Python

Using while loop

In this method, we use the while loop to find the factorial of a non-negative input number n.

Here too, each number is cumulatively multiplied and stored in a variable fact which is initialized to 1, as shown:

#Enter input
n = int(input("Enter input number : "))
 
fact = 1
if n < 0:
    print("Factorial does not exist for negative numbers")
elif n == 0:
    print("The factorial of 0 is 1")
else:
  while(n > 0):
        fact = fact * n
        n = n - 1
  print("The factorial is",fact)

Output:

What have we done here?

• Firstly, we take an integer input from the user and store it in the variable n.
• Declare and initialize the variable fact to 1.
• Then, we will use if-elif-else statement to check if the input number is negative, 0, or positive.
• For positive input integers, we will use the while loop to multiply the value of n with the value stored in the fact variable.
• The value of n is decremented by one each time the loop executes.
• The loop runs until n becomes zero.
• Print the final factorial value stored in the variable fact.

Must Check: Python Online Courses & Certifications

Using a ternary operator

In this method, instead of using a fact variable, we use a function and a conditional expression that calculates the factorial of a positive integer based on the given condition being true or false.

The syntax of a ternary operator is given as:

[on_true] if [expression] else [on_false]

This makes the code compact by testing the condition in a single line and replacing the multi-line if-else statements.

#Define a function
def factorial(n):
    return 1 if (n==1 or n==0) else n * factorial(n-1);
 
#Enter input
n = int(input("Enter input number : "))
 
print("The factorial of",n,"is",factorial(n))

Output:

What have we done here?

• We define a function factorial() that accepts an integer argument – n.
• Inside the loop body, we use a ternary operator:
  • Return 1, if the input number is 0 or 1; because the factorial will be 1.
  • else, for any other positive integer input, multiply the value of n with factorial(n-1) and return the final factorial value.
• Call the function and print the factorial of the given input number.

Using recursion

In this method, we calculate the factorial of a number using recursion, which is the process where a defined function can call itself.

#Define a function
def rec_factorial(num):
   if (num==1):
       return num
   else:
       return num * rec_factorial(num-1)
 
#Enter input
n = int(input("Enter input number : "))
 
if n < 0:
   print("Factorial does not exist for negative numbers")
elif n == 0:
   print("The factorial of 0 is 1")
else:
   print("The factorial of",n,"is",rec_factorial(n))

Output:

What have we done here?

• We define a function rec_factorial() that accepts an integer argument – num.
• Inside the loop body, we use an if-else statement:
  • if the input number is 1, the factorial will be 1 as well. So, return num.
  • else, for any other positive integer input, multiply the value of num with rec_factorial(num-1) and return the final factorial value.
• Take the input integer from the user and store it in the variable n.
• Use the if-elif-else statement to check if the input number is negative, 0, or positive.
• For a positive input integer, we will call the function and print the factorial of the given input number.

Using math module – factorial()

One of the easiest methods to find the factorial of a number is to use an in-built factorial() function in the Python math library, that directly returns the factorial of any non-negative number when applied to it:

#Import the math library 
import math 
 
#Enter input
n = int(input("Enter input number : "))
 
if n < 0:
   print("Factorial does not exist for negative numbers")
elif n == 0:
   print("The factorial of 0 is 1")
else:
  print("The factorial of",n,"is", math.factorial(n))

Output:

What have we done here?

• We first import the math module of Python.
• Then, we take an integer input from the user and store it in the variable n.
• Next, we will use the if-elif-else statement to check if the input number is negative, 0, or positive.
• For a positive input integer, we will call the math.factorial() method to calculate and print the factorial of the number directly.

Conclusion

The factorial of a number frequently finds its applications in data analysis alongside high-level mathematical problems. I hope this article helped you understand how to find the factorial of a number using different methods in Python.

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