Absolute Difference

Compute the absolute difference between two numbers with a simple function.

absolute value arithmetic function

Write a function `absolute_difference(x, y)` that takes two numbers (integers or floats) and returns the absolute difference between them. That is, the non-negative result of subtracting the smaller from the larger. Do not use any built-in abs() function; compute it manually. The function should return a number (int if both inputs are int, float if any input is float).

Constraints

Inputs are integers or floats. The result will fit within standard Python numeric precision. Do not use abs().

Example

>>> absolute_difference(10, 4)
6
>>> absolute_difference(3.5, 1.0)
2.5
>>> absolute_difference(-7, -2)
5

5 points ~5 min

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Hints

If x is greater than y, the difference is x - y; otherwise it is y - x.

You can use a conditional expression (ternary) to choose the order of subtraction.

Consider both integers and floats — the manual method works for both.

Test Results

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