[Tutor] A question about how python handles numbers larger than it's 32 bit limit

[John Toliver]

Greetings,

The book I have says when you anticipate that you will be working with
numbers larger than what python can handle, you place an "L" after the
number to signal python to treat it as a large number.  Does this
"treating" of the number only mean that Python won't try to represent
the number internally as a 32bit integer?  Python still appears to be
representing the number only with an L behind it so what is happening to
the number then.  Is the L behind the number telling python to handle
this large number in HEX instead which would fit into the 32 bit limit?

thanks in advance,

John T