Subtract 1 without arithmetic operators
Last Updated :
15 Feb, 2025
Write a program to subtract one from a given number. The use of operators like ‘+’, ‘-‘, ‘*’, ‘/’, ‘++’, ‘–‘ …etc are not allowed.
Examples:
Input: 12
Output: 11
Input: 6
Output: 5
Bitwise Subtraction Approach
To subtract 1 from a number x (say 0011001000), flip all the bits after the rightmost 1 bit (we get 0011001111). Finally, flip the rightmost 1 bit also (we get 0011000111) to get the answer.
Steps to solve this problem:
1. declare a variable m=1.
2. while x AND m is not equal to 1:
*update x as x XOR m.
*m<<=1.
3. update x as x XOR m.
4. return x.
C++
// C++ code to subtract
// one from a given number
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int subtractOne(int x)
{
int m = 1;
// Flip all the set bits
// until we find a 1
while (!(x & m))
{
x = x ^ m;
m <<= 1;
}
// Flip the rightmost 1 bit
x = x ^ m;
return x;
}
// Driver code
int main()
{
cout << subtractOne(13) << endl;
return 0;
}
// C code to subtract
// one from a given number
#include <stdio.h>
int subtractOne(int x)
{
int m = 1;
// Flip all the set bits
// until we find a 1
while (!(x & m)) {
x = x ^ m;
m <<= 1;
}
// flip the rightmost 1 bit
x = x ^ m;
return x;
}
/* Driver program to test above functions*/
int main()
{
printf("%d", subtractOne(13));
return 0;
}
// Java code to subtract
// one from a given number
import java.io.*;
class GFG
{
static int subtractOne(int x)
{
int m = 1;
// Flip all the set bits
// until we find a 1
while (!((x & m) > 0))
{
x = x ^ m;
m <<= 1;
}
// flip the rightmost
// 1 bit
x = x ^ m;
return x;
}
// Driver Code
public static void main (String[] args)
{
System.out.println(subtractOne(13));
}
}
# Python 3 code to subtract one from
# a given number
def subtractOne(x):
m = 1
# Flip all the set bits
# until we find a 1
while ((x & m) == False):
x = x ^ m
m = m << 1
# flip the rightmost 1 bit
x = x ^ m
return x
# Driver Code
if __name__ == '__main__':
print(subtractOne(13))
// C# code to subtract
// one from a given number
using System;
class GFG
{
static int subtractOne(int x)
{
int m = 1;
// Flip all the set bits
// until we find a 1
while (!((x & m) > 0))
{
x = x ^ m;
m <<= 1;
}
// flip the rightmost
// 1 bit
x = x ^ m;
return x;
}
// Driver Code
public static void Main ()
{
Console.WriteLine(subtractOne(13));
}
}
// JavaScript code to subtract
// one from a given number
function subtractOne(x)
{
let m = 1;
// Flip all the set bits
// until we find a 1
while (!(x & m)) {
x = x ^ m;
m <<= 1;
}
// flip the rightmost 1 bit
x = x ^ m;
return x;
}
/* Driver program to test above functions*/
console.log (subtractOne(13));
<?php
// PHP code to subtract
// one from a given number
function subtractOne($x)
{
$m = 1;
// Flip all the set bits
// until we find a 1
while (!($x & $m))
{
$x = $x ^ $m;
$m <<= 1;
}
// flip the
// rightmost 1 bit
$x = $x ^ $m;
return $x;
}
// Driver Code
echo subtractOne(13);
?>
Time Complexity: O(log n), where n is the number of bits in x
Auxiliary Space: O(1)
Bitwise Negation and Shift Approach
We know that the negative number is represented in 2’s complement form on most of the architectures. We have the following lemma hold for 2’s complement representation of signed numbers.
Say, x is numerical value of a number, then
~x = -(x+1) [ ~ is for bitwise complement ]
Adding 2x on both the sides,
2x + ~x = x - 1
To obtain 2x, left shift x once.
C++
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
int subtractOne(int x) { return ((x << 1) + (~x)); }
/* Driver program to test above functions*/
int main()
{
cout<< subtractOne(13);
return 0;
}
#include <stdio.h>
int subtractOne(int x) { return ((x << 1) + (~x)); }
/* Driver program to test above functions*/
int main()
{
printf("%d", subtractOne(13));
return 0;
}
import java.io.*;
class GFG
{
static int subtractOne(int x)
{
return ((x << 1) + (~x));
}
/* Driver code*/
public static void main(String[] args)
{
System.out.printf("%d", subtractOne(13));
}
}
def subtractOne(x):
return ((x << 1) + (~x));
# Driver code
print(subtractOne(13));
using System;
class GFG
{
static int subtractOne(int x)
{
return ((x << 1) + (~x));
}
/* Driver code*/
public static void Main(String[] args)
{
Console.Write("{0}", subtractOne(13));
}
}
function subtractOne(x)
{
return ((x << 1) + (~x));
}
/* Driver program to test above functions*/
console.log((subtractOne(13)));
Time Complexity: O(1)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)
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