Why does Python’s `/` operator return a float for integer division?

In Python, `/` always means true division and returns a floating-point result, even when the answer happens to be a whole number. This keeps the operator consistent: `1 / 2` can return `0.5` without needing special rules. If you want floor division, use `//`, so `100 // 25` produces `4` and `40 // 3` produces `13`.

Python 2 handled this differently: dividing two integers could produce an integer, while using a floating-point operand produced a float. Python 3 changed `/` to always perform true division, so use `//` when you specifically want an integer-style result.

The result type is kept predictable instead of changing based on whether the division comes out evenly. In some older languages, integer operands caused integer division, which could silently discard the fractional part. Python makes you explicitly choose integer-style division with `//`.