Python abs() Function

The abs() built-in Python function calculates absolute value of a number.

It takes one input x.

• For negative numbers (x < 0) it returns -x.
• For positive numbers and zero (x >= 0) it returns x.

Input data types

Typical arguments to the abs() function are int or float types.

>>> abs(3)
3
>>> abs(-3)
3
>>> abs(0)
0
>>> abs(3.5)
3.5
>>> abs(-3.5)
3.5

The argument to abs() can be object of any class which implements the __abs__() method, such as Decimal or Fraction:

>>> from decimal import Decimal
>>> x = Decimal('-7.25')
>>> x
Decimal('-7.25')
>>> abs(x)
Decimal('7.25')

>>> from fractions import Fraction
>>> y = Fraction(-1, 3)
>>> y
Fraction(-1, 3)
>>> abs(y)
Fraction(1, 3)

The argument can't be a str, tuple, list, set, or dict. These raise TypeError.

>>> abs('-3.5')
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: bad operand type for abs(): 'str'

>>> abs((1, -1))
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: bad operand type for abs(): 'tuple'

Official documentation

https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#abs