Why does bit-wise shift left return different results in Python and Java?

Question

I\'m trying to port some functionality from a Java app to Python.

In Java,

System.out.println(155 << 24);

Returns: -1694498816

Answer 1

Java has 32-bit fixed width integers, so 155 << 24 shifts the uppermost set bit of 155 (which is bit 7, counting bits from zero, because 155 is greater than 2⁷ but less than 2⁸) into the sign bit (bit 31) and you end up with a negative number.

Python has arbitrary-precision integers, so 155 << 24 is numerically equal to the positive number 155 × 2²⁴