operators in c programming

v Operators: -

An operator is a symbol that tells or intimates to the compiler to perform specific calculations or manipulations on one or more operands.

Operators are essential for performing computations and making decisions in programs.

a + b is an operation

a & b are operands

+ is an operator

Based on number of operands involved:

1. Unary operators: - unary operators can be applied on only one operator.

Example: - ++ , -- , - (unary minus) , sizeof , ~ (compliment) , ! (not).

2. Binary operators: - binary operators can be applied on two operands.

Example: - + , -, * , / , etc.

3. Ternary operators: - Ternary operator can be applied on three operands.

Example: - ?: (ternary conditional operator).

C supports several operators, can be classified into following categories.

1. Arithmetic operators

2. Relational operators

3. Logical operators

4. Assignment operators

5. Bitwise Operators

6. Increment/Decrement Operators

7. Conditional operator

8. Special operators

1) Arithmetic operators: -

An arithmetic operator performs mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and modulus on numerical values.

These operators can be applied on two or more variables or constants.

They work with both integer and floating-point numbers.

Operator	Name	Description	Example (if a = 10, b = 3)	Result
+	Addition	Adds two operands	a + b	13
-	Subtraction	Subtracts right operand from left	a - b	7
*	Multiplication	Multiplies two operands	a * b	30
/	Integer Division	Divides left operand by right (quotient)	a / b	3
/	Floating Division	Divides left operand by right (quotient)	(float) a / b	3.3333
%	Modulus	Returns remainder after division	a % b	1

Example: -

Output: -

2) Relational operators: -

Relational operators are used to compare the values of two variables or constants.
These operators check the relationship between two operands. If the relation is true, it returns 1; if the relation is false, it returns the value 0.

Returns 1 → if the condition is true

Returns 0 → if the condition is false

C doesn't have a built-in boolean data type. Instead, it uses integers. Any non-zero value is considered true, and 0 is considered false.

These operators are widely used in Decision making ( if ) and Loops (for , while) in C programming.

The relational operators are:

Operator	Name	Description	Example (if a = 2, b = 5)	Result
==	Equal to	Returns true if both are equal	a == b	0 (false)
!=	Not equal to	Returns true if not equal	a != b	1 (true)
>	Greater than	True if left > right	a > b	0 (false)
<	Less than	True if left < right	a < b	1 (true)
>=	Greater than or equal to	True if left ≥ right	a >= b	0 (false)
<=	Less than or equal to	True if left ≤ right	a <= b	1 (true)

Example: -

output: -

3) Logical operators: -

Logical operators are used to combine expressions or combine more than one conditions containing relational operators.

They are essential in decision-making (if, else, while, for) to test multiple conditions at once, for creating more complex conditions in programs.

The result of a logical operation is:

1 → if the final condition is true

0 → if the final condition is false

Operator	Name	Description	Example (if a = 2, b = 5)	Result
&&	Logical AND	Returns true if both conditions are true	(a > 0 && b > 0)	1
\|\|	Logical OR	Returns false if both conditions are false	(a > 2 \|\| b > 6)	0
!	Logical NOT	Reverses the result (true → false, false → true)	!(a > b)	1

Example: -

Output: -

4) Assignment operators: -

Assignment Operators are used to assign values to a variable.

The basic assignment operator is denoted by equal to sign (=).

It is binary operator which operates on two operands. It has Two Values – Left-Value and Right-Value. Operator copies Right-Value into Left-Value.

C also provides compound assignment operators (like +=, -=, etc.) that combine arithmetic operations with assignment.

The assignment operators are:

Operator	Name	Description	Example	Meaning
=	Basic assignment	Assigns right variable value to left variable.	a = b	Assigns value of b to a
+=	Addition assignment	Adds the right operand to the left operand and assigns the result to the left operand.	a += b	a = a + b
-=	Subtraction assignment	Subtracts the right operand from the left and assigns the result to the left operand.	a -= b	a = a - b
*=	Multiplication assignment	Multiplies the left operand by the right and assigns the result to the left operand.	a *= b	a = a * b
/=	Division assignment	Divides the left operand by the right and assigns the result to the left operand.	a /= b	a = a / b
%=	Modulus assignment	Calculates the modulus of the left operand with the right and assigns the result to the left operand.	a %= b	a = a % b

Example: -

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5) Bitwise Operators: -

Bitwise operators are used to perform operations on individual bits of integer data types.

They are very essential and mostly used in low-level programming, such as embedded systems, hardware control, data compression, cryptography, graphics, and optimizing performance.

These operators work on the binary representation (bits) of integers (e.g., int, char) and manipulate individual bits (0s and 1s).

Note: Bitwise operators cannot be used with float or double.

Operator	Name	Description	Example (a=5=0101, b=3=0011)	Result (in decimal)
&	Bitwise AND	1 if both bits are 1	a & b = 0101 & 0011 = 0001	1
\|	Bitwise OR	1 if at least one bit is 1	a \| b = 0101 \| 0011 = 0111	7
^	Bitwise XOR	1 if bits are different	a ^ b = 0101 ^ 0011 = 0110	6
~	Bitwise NOT	Flips all bits (1→0, 0→1) add +1 to given bits	~a = ~0101 = 1010 (in 2’s complement = -6)	-6
<<	Left Shift	Shifts bits left, adds 0s at right	a << 1 = 0101 → 1010	10
>>	Right Shift	Shifts bits right, adds 0s at left (for positive numbers)	a >> 1 = 0101 → 0010	2

Example: -

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6) Increment/Decrement Operators: -

The increment (++) and decrement (--) operators are unary operators in C, used to increase or decrease the value of a variable by 1.

They are widely used in loops, counters, and array indexing.

a) Increment operator (++): -

Increment operator is a unary operator which increases a variable value by 1 and stores it in same variable.

There are two increment operators: -

i. Pre-increment

ii. Post increment

i) Pre-increment: -

Increment operator is placed before the variable or preceded by the variable.

First, increment operator is applied on to the variable and then the value is passed to second variable.

Example: -

Output: -

ii) Post increment: -

Increment operator is placed after the variable or next to variable.

First, the value in variable is passed to second variable then the first variable gets incremented.

Example: -

output: -

b) Decrement operator: -

Decrement operator is a unary operator which decreases a variable value by 1 and stores it in same variable.

There are two decrement operators: -

i. Pre-decrement operator

ii. Post decrement operator

i) Pre-decrement operator: -

Decrement operator is placed before the variable or preceded by the variable.
First, decrement operator is applied on to the variable and then the value is passed to second variable.

Example: -

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ii) Post decrement operator: -

Decrement operator is placed after the variable or next to variable.

First, the value in variable is passed to second variable then the first variable gets decremented.

Example: -

output: -

7) Conditional operator: -

The conditional operator is also known as the ternary operator.

It is the only operator that takes three operands.

It provides a short form of writing simple if-else statements in a single line.

It is used to make quick decisions and assign values based on a condition.

Syntax: - The general syntax is:

condition ? expression1 : expression2;

· condition: An expression that evaluates to either true (non-zero) or false (zero).

· Expression1: If condition is true (non-zero), then expression1 is evaluated and returned.

· Expression2: If condition is false (zero), then expression2 is evaluated and returned.

Example: -

output: -

8) Special operators: -

special operators are the operators which have special meaning and are mainly used for specific purposes such as referencing, accessing, and memory management.