C - Operators
An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or
logical functions. C language is rich in built-in operators and provides the following
types of operators −
Arithmetic Operators
Relational Operators
Logical Operators
Bitwise Operators
Assignment Operators
Misc Operators
We will, in this chapter, look into the way each operator works.
Arithmetic Operators in C
The following table shows all the arithmetic operators supported by the C language.
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then −
Operator Description Example
+ Adds two operands. A + B = 30
− Subtracts second operand from the first. A−B=-
10
* Multiplies both operands. A*B=
200
/ Divides numerator by de-numerator. B/A=2
% Modulus Operator and remainder of after an integer division. B%A=0
++ Increment operator increases the integer value by one. A++ = 11
-- Decrement operator decreases the integer value by one. A-- = 9
Example
Try the following example to understand all the arithmetic operators available in C −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int a = 21;
int b = 10;
int c ;
c = a + b;
printf("Line 1 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a - b;
printf("Line 2 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a * b;
printf("Line 3 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a / b;
printf("Line 4 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a % b;
printf("Line 5 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a++;
printf("Line 6 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a--;
printf("Line 7 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
}
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Line 1 - Value of c is 31
Line 2 - Value of c is 11
Line 3 - Value of c is 210
Line 4 - Value of c is 2
Line 5 - Value of c is 1
Line 6 - Value of c is 21
Line 7 - Value of c is 22
Relational Operators in C
The following table shows all the relational operators supported by C language.
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then −
Operator Description Example
== Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not. If yes, (A == B)
then the condition becomes true. is not
true.
!= Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not. If the (A != B)
values are not equal, then the condition becomes true. is true.
> Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the value of (A > B)
right operand. If yes, then the condition becomes true. is not
true.
< Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of (A < B)
right operand. If yes, then the condition becomes true. is true.
>= Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or equal to (A >= B)
the value of right operand. If yes, then the condition becomes is not
true. true.
<= Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal to the (A <= B)
value of right operand. If yes, then the condition becomes is true.
true.
Example
Try the following example to understand all the relational operators available in C −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int a = 21;
int b = 10;
int c ;
if( a == b ) {
printf("Line 1 - a is equal to b\n" );
} else {
printf("Line 1 - a is not equal to b\n" );
}
if ( a < b ) {
printf("Line 2 - a is less than b\n" );
} else {
printf("Line 2 - a is not less than b\n" );
}
if ( a > b ) {
printf("Line 3 - a is greater than b\n" );
} else {
printf("Line 3 - a is not greater than b\n" );
}
/* Lets change value of a and b */
a = 5;
b = 20;
if ( a <= b ) {
printf("Line 4 - a is either less than or equal to b\n" );
}
if ( b >= a ) {
printf("Line 5 - b is either greater than or equal to b\n" );
}
}
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Line 1 - a is not equal to b
Line 2 - a is not less than b
Line 3 - a is greater than b
Line 4 - a is either less than or equal to b
Line 5 - b is either greater than or equal to b
Logical Operators in C
Following table shows all the logical operators supported by C language. Assume
variable A holds 1 and variable B holds 0, then −
Operator Description Example
&& Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are non- (A && B)
zero, then the condition becomes true. is false.
|| Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands is (A || B) is
non-zero, then the condition becomes true. true.
! Called Logical NOT Operator. It is used to reverse the logical !(A &&
state of its operand. If a condition is true, then Logical NOT B) is
operator will make it false. true.
Example
Try the following example to understand all the logical operators available in C −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int a = 5;
int b = 20;
int c ;
if ( a && b ) {
printf("Line 1 - Condition is true\n" );
}
if ( a || b ) {
printf("Line 2 - Condition is true\n" );
}
/* lets change the value of a and b */
a = 0;
b = 10;
if ( a && b ) {
printf("Line 3 - Condition is true\n" );
} else {
printf("Line 3 - Condition is not true\n" );
}
if ( !(a && b) ) {
printf("Line 4 - Condition is true\n" );
}
}
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Line 1 - Condition is true
Line 2 - Condition is true
Line 3 - Condition is not true
Line 4 - Condition is true
Bitwise Operators in C
Bitwise operator works on bits and perform bit-by-bit operation. The truth tables for &,
|, and ^ is as follows −
p q p&q p|q p^q
0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 1
Assume A = 60 and B = 13 in binary format, they will be as follows −
A = 0011 1100
B = 0000 1101
-----------------
A&B = 0000 1100
A|B = 0011 1101
A^B = 0011 0001
~A = 1100 0011
The following table lists the Bitwise operators supported by C. Assume variable 'A'
holds 60 and variable 'B' holds 13, then −
Operator Description Example
& Binary AND Operator copies a bit to the result if it exists in (A & B) =
both operands. 12, i.e.,
0000
1100
| Binary OR Operator copies a bit if it exists in either operand. (A | B) =
61, i.e.,
0011
1101
^ Binary XOR Operator copies the bit if it is set in one operand (A ^ B) =
but not both. 49, i.e.,
0011
0001
~ (~A ) =
Binary One's Complement Operator is unary and has the ~(60),
effect of 'flipping' bits. i.e,. 1100
0011
<< Binary Left Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved A << 2 =
left by the number of bits specified by the right operand. 240 i.e.,
1111
0000
>> Binary Right Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved A >> 2 =
right by the number of bits specified by the right operand. 15 i.e.,
0000
1111
Example
Try the following example to understand all the bitwise operators available in C −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
unsigned int a = 60; /* 60 = 0011 1100 */
unsigned int b = 13; /* 13 = 0000 1101 */
int c = 0;
c = a & b; /* 12 = 0000 1100 */
printf("Line 1 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a | b; /* 61 = 0011 1101 */
printf("Line 2 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a ^ b; /* 49 = 0011 0001 */
printf("Line 3 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = ~a; /*-61 = 1100 0011 */
printf("Line 4 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a << 2; /* 240 = 1111 0000 */
printf("Line 5 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
c = a >> 2; /* 15 = 0000 1111 */
printf("Line 6 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
}
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Line 1 - Value of c is 12
Line 2 - Value of c is 61
Line 3 - Value of c is 49
Line 4 - Value of c is -61
Line 5 - Value of c is 240
Line 6 - Value of c is 15
Assignment Operators in C
The following table lists the assignment operators supported by the C language −
Operator Description Example
= Simple assignment operator. Assigns values from right side C=A+B
operands to left side operand will assign
the value
of A + B
to C
+= Add AND assignment operator. It adds the right operand to C += A is
the left operand and assign the result to the left operand. equivalent
to C = C +
A
-= Subtract AND assignment operator. It subtracts the right C -= A is
operand from the left operand and assigns the result to the equivalent
left operand. to C = C -
A
*= Multiply AND assignment operator. It multiplies the right C *= A is
operand with the left operand and assigns the result to the equivalent
left operand. to C = C *
A
/= Divide AND assignment operator. It divides the left operand C /= A is
with the right operand and assigns the result to the left equivalent
operand. to C = C /
A
%= Modulus AND assignment operator. It takes modulus using C %= A is
two operands and assigns the result to the left operand. equivalent
to C = C
%A
<<= Left shift AND assignment operator. C <<= 2
is same
as C = C
<< 2
>>= Right shift AND assignment operator. C >>= 2
is same
as C = C
>> 2
&= Bitwise AND assignment operator. C &= 2 is
same as
C=C&2
^= Bitwise exclusive OR and assignment operator. C ^= 2 is
same as
C=C^2
|= Bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operator. C |= 2 is
same as
C=C|2
Example
Try the following example to understand all the assignment operators available in C −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int a = 21;
int c ;
c = a;
printf("Line 1 - = Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c += a;
printf("Line 2 - += Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c -= a;
printf("Line 3 - -= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c *= a;
printf("Line 4 - *= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c /= a;
printf("Line 5 - /= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c = 200;
c %= a;
printf("Line 6 - %= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c <<= 2;
printf("Line 7 - <<= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c >>= 2;
printf("Line 8 - >>= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c &= 2;
printf("Line 9 - &= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c ^= 2;
printf("Line 10 - ^= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
c |= 2;
printf("Line 11 - |= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );
}
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Line 1 - = Operator Example, Value of c = 21
Line 2 - += Operator Example, Value of c = 42
Line 3 - -= Operator Example, Value of c = 21
Line 4 - *= Operator Example, Value of c = 441
Line 5 - /= Operator Example, Value of c = 21
Line 6 - %= Operator Example, Value of c = 11
Line 7 - <<= Operator Example, Value of c = 44
Line 8 - >>= Operator Example, Value of c = 11
Line 9 - &= Operator Example, Value of c = 2
Line 10 - ^= Operator Example, Value of c = 0
Line 11 - |= Operator Example, Value of c = 2
sizeof and ternary operators in C
Besides the operators discussed above, there are few a other important operators
including sizeof and ? : supported by the C Language.
Operator Description Example
sizeof() sizeof(a), where a is integer, will
Returns the size of a variable.
return 4.
& &a; returns the actual address of
Returns the address of a variable.
the variable.
* Pointer to a variable. *a;
?: If Condition is true ? then value X :
Conditional Expression.
otherwise value Y
Example
Try following example to understand all the miscellaneous operators available in C −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int a = 4;
short b;
double c;
int* ptr;
/* example of sizeof operator */
printf("Line 1 - Size of variable a = %d\n", sizeof(a) );
printf("Line 2 - Size of variable b = %d\n", sizeof(b) );
printf("Line 3 - Size of variable c= %d\n", sizeof(c) );
/* example of & and * operators */
ptr = &a; /* 'ptr' now contains the address of 'a'*/
printf("value of a is %d\n", a);
printf("*ptr is %d.\n", *ptr);
/* example of ternary operator */
a = 10;
b = (a == 1) ? 20: 30;
printf( "Value of b is %d\n", b );
b = (a == 10) ? 20: 30;
printf( "Value of b is %d\n", b );
}
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Line 1 - Size of variable a = 4
Line 2 - Size of variable b = 2
Line 3 - Size of variable c= 8
value of a is 4
*ptr is 4.
Value of b is 30
Value of b is 20