C Programming - Operators
C Programming - Operators
Operators are the symbol which operates on value or a variable. For example: + is a operator to
perform addition.
C programming language has wide range of operators to perform various operations. For better
understanding of operators, these operators can be classified as:
Operators in C programming
Arithmetic Operators
Increment and Decrement Operators
Assignment Operators
Relational Operators
Logical Operators
Conditional Operators
Bitwise Operators
Special Operators
Arithmetic Operators
Operator
Meaning of Operator
multiplication
division
int main(){
int a=9,b=4,c;
c=a+b;
printf("a+b=%d\n",c);
c=a-b;
printf("a-b=%d\n",c);
c=a*b;
printf("a*b=%d\n",c);
c=a/b;
printf("a/b=%d\n",c);
c=a%b;
printf("Remainder when a divided by b=%d\n",c);
return 0;
}
}
a+b=13
a-b=5
a*b=36
a/b=2
Remainder when a divided by b=1
Explanation
Here, the operators +, - and * performed normally as you expected. In normal
calculation, 9/4 equals to 2.25. But, the output is 2 in this program. It is because, a and b are
both integers. So, the output is also integer and the compiler neglects the term after deci mal
point and shows answer 2 instead of 2.25. And, finally a%b is 1,i.e. ,when a=9 is divided
by b=4 , remainder is 1.
Suppose a=5.0, b=2.0, c=5 and d=2
In C programming,
a/b=2.5
a/d=2.5
c/b=2.5
c/d=2
Note: % operator can only be used with integers.
//a becomes 6
a--;
//a becomes 5
++a;
//a becomes 6
--a;
//a becomes 5
#include <stdio.h>
int main(){
int c=2,d=2;
printf("%d\n",c++); //this statement displays 2 then, only c incremented by 1 to 3.
printf("%d",++c); //this statement increments 1 to c then, only c is displayed.
return 0;
}
Output
2
4
Assignment Operators
The most common assignment operator is = . This operator assigns the value in right side to the
left side. For example:
var=5
a=c;
//value of c is assigned to a
5=c;
// Error! 5 is a constant.
Operator
Example
Same as
a=b
a=b
+=
a+=b
a=a+b
-=
a-=b
a=a-b
*=
a*=b
a=a*b
/=
a/=b
a=a/b
%=
a%=b
a=a%b
Relational Operator
Relational operators checks relationship between two operands. If the relation is true, it returns
value 1 and if the relation is false, it returns value 0. For example:
a>b
Here, > is a relational operator. If a is greater than b, a>b returns 1 if not then, it returns 0.
Relational operators are used in decision making and loops in C programming.
Operator
Meaning of Operator
Example
==
Equal to
>
Greater than
<
Less than
!=
Not equal to
>=
<=
Logical Operators
Logical operators are used to combine expressions containing relation operators. In C, there are 3
logical operators:
Operator
Meaning of
Operator
Example
&&
Logial
AND
||
Logical
OR
Logical
NOT
Explanation
For expression, ((c==5) && (d>5)) to be true, both c==5 and d>5 should be true but,
(d>5) is false in the given example. So, the expression is false. For
expression ((c==5) || (d>5)) to be true, either the expression should be true.
Since, (c==5) is true. So, the expression is true. Since, expression (c==5) is true, !(c==5) is
false.
Conditional Operator
Conditional operator takes three operands and consists of two symbols ? and : . Conditional
operators are used for decision making in C. For example:
c=(c>0)?10:-10;
If c is greater than 0, value of c will be 10 but, if c is less than 0, value of c will be -10.
Bitwise Operators
A bitwise operator works on each bit of data. Bitwise operators are used in bit level
programming.
Operators
Meaning of operators
&
Bitwise AND
Bitwise OR
Bitwise exclusive OR
Bitwise complement
<<
Shift left
>>
Shift right
Bitwise operator is advance topic in programming . Learn more about bitwise operator in C
programming.
Other Operators
Comma Operator
Comma operators are used to link related expressions together. For example:
int a,c=5,d;
#include <stdio.h>
int main(){
int a;
float b;
double c;
char d;
return 0;
}
Output
Enter l if the year is leap year otherwise enter n: l
Number of days in February = 29
Other operators such as &(reference operator), *(dereference operator) and ->(member selection)
operator will be discussed inpointer chapter.