C Operators
An operator is simply a symbol that is used to perform operations. There can be many types of
operations like arithmetic, logical, bitwise, etc.
There are following types of operators to perform different types of operations in C language.
o Arithmetic Operators
o Relational Operators
o Shift Operators
o Logical Operators
o Bitwise Operators
o Ternary or Conditional Operators
o Assignment Operator
o Misc Operator
Precedence of Operators in C
The precedence of operator species that which operator will be evaluated first and next. The
associativity specifies the operator direction to be evaluated; it may be left to right or right to left.
Let's understand the precedence by the example given below:
1. int value=10+20*10;
Test it Now
The value variable will contain 210 because * (multiplicative operator) is evaluated before + (additive
operator).
The precedence and associativity of C operators is given below:
Category Operator Associativity
Postfix () [] ->. ++ - - Left to right
Unary + - ! ~ ++ - - (type)* & sizeof Right to left
Multiplicative */% Left to right
Additive +- Left to right
Shift << >> Left to right
Relational < <= > >= Left to right
Equality == != Left to right
Bitwise AND & Left to right
Bitwise XOR ^ Left to right
Bitwise OR | Left to right
Logical AND && Left to right
Logical OR || Left to right
Conditional ?: Right to left
Assignment = += -= *= /= %=>>= <<= &= ^= |= Right to left
Comma , Left to right
Arithmetic Operators:
Arithmetic operators carry out fundamental mathematical operations. The arithmetic operators in C
are as follows:
Addition Operator (+): The addition operator adds two operands together.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 + operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int b = 3;
3. int result = a + b;
Test it Now
Output:
result = 8
Subtraction Operator (-): The second operand is subtracted from the first operand via
the subtraction operator.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 - operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 8;
2. int b = 3;
3. int result = a - b;
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Output:
result = 5
Multiplication Operator (*): This operator is used to multiply the two operands.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 * operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 4;
2. int b = 5;
3. int result = a * b;
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Output:
result = 20
Division Operator (/): The first operand and the second operand are divided using the division
operator.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 / operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 10;
2. int b = 2;
3. int result = a / b;
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Output:
result = 5
Modulus Operator (%): The modulus operator determines the remainder of the division between
two operands.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 % operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 10;
2. int b = 3;
3. int result = a % b;
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Output:
result = 1
Relational Operators:
Relational operators assess the relationship between values by comparing them. They return
either true (1) or false (0). The relational operators in C are as follows:
Equality Operator (==): If two operands are equal, the equality operator verifies this.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 == operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int b = 5;
3. int result = a == b;
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Output:
result=1 (true)
Inequality Operator (!=): The inequality operator determines whether two operands
are equal or not.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 != operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int b = 3;
3. int result = a != b;
Test it Now
Output:
result=1 (true)
Greater than Operator (>): The greater than operator determines if the first operand exceeds the
second operand.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 > operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 7;
2. int b = 4;
3. int result = a > b;
Test it Now
Output:
result=1 (true)
Less than Operator (<): The less-than operator determines if the first operand less is than the
second operand.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 < operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 2;
2. int b = 6;
3. int result = a < b;
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Output:
result=1 (true)
Greater than or Equal to Operator (>=): The greater than or equal to operator determines if the first
operand is more than or equal to the second operand.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 >= operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int b = 5;
3. int result = a >= b;
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Output:
result=1 (true)
Less than or Equal To Operator (<=): The less than or equal to operator determines if the first
operand must be less than or equal to the second operand.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 <= operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 3;
2. int b = 6;
3. int result = a <= b;
Test it Now
Output:
result=1 (true)
Shift Operators:
A binary number's bits can be moved to the left or right using shift operators. The C shift workers are
listed below:
Left Shift Operator (<<): The left shift operator moves the bits of the first operand to the left by the
number of places indicated by the second argument.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 << operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. unsigned int a = 5; // 0000 0101 in binary
2. int result = a << 2;
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Output:
result = 20 // 0001 0100 in binary
Right Shift Operator (>>): The right shift operator shifts the bits of the first operand to the right by
the number of positions specified by the second operand.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 >> operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. unsigned int a = 20; // 0001 0100 in binary
2. int result = a >> 2;
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Output:
result = 5 // 0000 0101 in binary
Logical Operators:
Logical operators perform logical operations on boolean values and return either true (1) or false
(0). Here are the logical operators in C:
Logical AND Operator (&&): The logical AND operator returns true if both operands are true.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 && operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int b = 3;
3. int result = (a > 3) && (b < 5);
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Output:
result = 1 (true)
Logical OR Operator (||): The logical OR operator returns true if at least one of the operands is true.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 || operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int b = 3;
3. int result = (a > 3) || (b > 5);
Test it Now
Output:
result = 1 (true)
Logical NOT Operator (!): The logical NOT operator negates the value of the operand.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = !operand;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int result = !(a > 3);
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Output:
result = 0 (false)
Bitwise Operators:
Bitwise operators perform operations on individual bits of the operands. Here are the bitwise
operators in C:
Bitwise AND Operator (&): The bitwise AND operator performs a bitwise AND operation on the
corresponding bits of the operands.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 & operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. unsigned int a = 5; // 0000 0101 in binary
2. unsigned int b = 3; // 0000 0011 in binary
3. int result = a & b;
Test it Now
Output:
result = 1 // 0000 0001 in binary
Bitwise OR Operator (|): The bitwise OR operator performs a bitwise OR operation on the
corresponding bits of the operands.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 | operand2; Example:
1. unsigned int a = 5; // 0000 0101 in binary
2. unsigned int b = 3; // 0000 0011 in binary
3. int result = a | b;
Output:
result = 7 // 0000 0111 in binary
Bitwise XOR Operator (^): The bitwise XOR operator performs a bitwise exclusive OR operation on
the corresponding bits of the operands.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = operand1 ^ operand2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. unsigned int a = 5; // 0000 0101 in binary
2. unsigned int b = 3; // 0000 0011 in binary
3. int result = a ^ b;
Test it Now
Output:
result = 6 // 0000 0110 in binary
Bitwise NOT Operator (~): The bitwise NOT operator flips each bit of the operand.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = ~operand;
Test it Now
Example:
1. unsigned int a = 5; // 0000 0101 in binary
2. int result = ~a;
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Output:
result = -6 // 1111 1001 in binary (assuming 8-bit representation)
Ternary or Conditional Operator: The ternary or conditional operator allows you to assign a value
based on a condition.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = condition ? value1 : value2;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5;
2. int b = 3;
3. int result = (a > b) ? a : b;
Test it Now
Output:
result = 5
Assignment Operator:
Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. Here is some of the assignment
operator in C:
Simple Assignment Operator (=): The simple assignment operator assigns the value from
the right side operands to the left side operands.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. variable = value;
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a;
2. a = 5;
Test it Now
Output:
No output. The value 5 is assigned to variable 'a'.
Miscellaneous Operator:
The sizeof operator and the comma operator fall under the miscellaneous operator category.
sizeof Operator: The sizeof operator returns the size, in bytes, of a variable or a data type.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. result = sizeof(variable / data type);
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a;
2. int size = sizeof(a);
Test it Now
Output:
size = 4 // Assuming int occupies 4 bytes
Comma Operator (,): The comma operator evaluates multiple expressions and returns the value of
the last expression.
Syntax:
It has the following syntax:
1. makefileCopy code
2. result = (expression1, expression2,..., expressionN);
Test it Now
Example:
1. int a = 5, b = 3;
2. int result = (a += 2, b *= 2, a + b);
Test it Now
Output:
result = 15 // a = 7, b = 6, a + b = 13
Uses of Operators:
The following are some common uses for the various kinds of operators in C:
o Calculations in fundamental mathematics are performed using the addition and subtraction
operators (+ and -).
o If the user wants to do some multiplication and division operations, utilize the multiplication
and division operators (* and /).
o The remainder of a division operation is obtained using the modulus operator (%).
o Equality and inequality operators (== and!=) are needed to compare values and determine
whether they are equal or not.
o Use the greater than and less than operators (>and <) to compare values and determine if
one value is larger than or less than
o A value's relationship to another value may be determined using the larger than or equal
to and less than or equal to operators (>= and <=).
o A binary number's bits are shifted to the left using the left shift operator (<<).
o A binary number's bits can be shifted to the right using the right shift operator (>>).
o Use the logical AND operator (&&) to combine many criteria and determine if each
condition is true.
o When combining several criteria, the logical OR operator (||) is used to determine if at least
one of the conditions is true.
o The logical NOT operator (!) is used to negate a condition's value.
o When two numbers' individual bits are involved, the bitwise AND operator (&) is utilized to
accomplish the action.
o The bitwise OR operator (|) is employed when two numbers' individual bits are involved.
o Bitwise exclusive OR operator is performed on individual bits of two integers using
the bitwise XOR operator ().
o Use the bitwise NOT operator () to flip or invert the bits of an integer.
o Use the ternary operator (?:) to assign a value depending on a condition in a compact form.
o A value is assigned to a variable using the simple assignment operator (=).
o The sizeof operator is used to calculate a variable's or data type's size in bytes.
o When evaluating several expressions, the comma operator (,) returns the result of the last
expression that was evaluated.
