Absolute Difference of Two Integers

Return the absolute difference between two integer inputs, no matter which is larger.

absolute difference math basics

Write a function `absolute_difference(a, b)` that takes two integers `a` and `b` and returns the absolute value of their difference, i.e., `|a - b|`. The result must always be non-negative.

**Input:**
- `a`, `b`: integers (may be negative, zero, or positive).

**Output:**
- An integer equal to `|a - b|`.

**Constraints:**
- `-10^9 <= a, b <= 10^9` (fits within standard 32-bit/64-bit integers).

Constraints

Input integers are between -10^9 and 10^9 inclusive. The function should run in O(1) time and O(1) space.

Example

>>> absolute_difference(5, 3)
2
>>> absolute_difference(3, 5)
2
>>> absolute_difference(-4, 6)
10
>>> absolute_difference(0, 0)
0

5 points ~5 min

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Hints

Use Python's built-in `abs()` function.

Subtract one number from the other, then take the absolute value.

Make sure to handle negative results correctly.

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