Understanding compound operators -=

[NewatCode]

Hello, I am trying to self learn python from a book called the coders apprentice. I really like the book and I am learning from it. I encountered an exercise that asks you to determine how many dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies of change you will have in a specific amount for example 1156 cents. The code for the program is here

CENTS_IN_DOLLAR = 100
CENTS_IN_QUARTER = 25
CENTS_IN_DIME = 10
CENTS_IN_NICKEL = 5

amount = 1156
cents = amount

dollars = int( cents / CENTS_IN_DOLLAR )
cents -= dollars * CENTS_IN_DOLLAR
quarters = int( cents / CENTS_IN_QUARTER )
cents -= quarters * CENTS_IN_QUARTER
dimes = int( cents / CENTS_IN_DIME )
cents -= dimes * CENTS_IN_DIME
nickels = int( cents / CENTS_IN_NICKEL )
cents -= nickels * CENTS_IN_NICKEL
cents = int( cents )

print( amount / CENTS_IN_DOLLAR, "consists of:" )
print( "Dollars:", dollars )
print( "Quarters:", quarters )
print( "Dimes:", dimes )
print( "Nickels:", nickels )
print( "Pennies:", cents )

I understand when something is x = x+5
but with this program I dont see how it works and tried to understand how the compound operators work and I am stuck. Can someone please explain to me how the cents obtains its new value from the calculation on the right?

Thank you very much

[ljmetzger]

Please read the forum rules and use CODE TAGS around your code in the future.

The operators are shorthand:
x += 5 is shorthand for x = x + 5

cents -= nickels * CENTS_IN_NICKEL is shortand for cents = cents - nickels * CENTS_IN_NICKEL

Lewis

[NewatCode]

Thank you I will wrap the code next time, thank you very much that clarifies it.

[Larz60+]

Just something to think about.
The book looks OK, except for one thing. The author likes to use single letter variable names.
Be aware that this is considered bad practice. Meaningful names identify what the variable is used for. Single letters can never do this.