C++ Bitwise Operators

Quiz

Bitwise operators are used to perform operations at the bit level on integer data types. These operations work on direct manipulation of bits, such as low-level programming, graphics, and cryptography.

List of C++ Bitwise operators

The Bitwise operators supported by C++ language are listed in the following table. 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 both operands.	(A & B) will give 12 which is 0000 1100
\|	Binary OR Operator copies a bit if it exists in either operand.	(A \| B) will give 61 which is 0011 1101
^	Binary XOR Operator copies the bit if it is set in one operand but not both.	(A ^ B) will give 49 which is 0011 0001
~	Binary Ones Complement Operator is unary and has the effect of 'flipping' bits.	(~A ) will give -61 which is 1100 0011 in 2's complement form due to a signed binary number.
<<	Binary Left Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved left by the number of bits specified by the right operand.	A << 2 will give 240 which is 1111 0000
>>	Binary Right Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved right by the number of bits specified by the right operand.	A >> 2 will give 15 which is 0000 1111

Example of Bitwise Operators

Try the following example to understand all the bitwise operators available in C++.

Copy and paste the following C++ program in test.cpp file and compile and run this program.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

main() {
   unsigned int a = 60;	  // 60 = 0011 1100  
   unsigned int b = 13;	  // 13 = 0000 1101
   int c = 0;           

   c = a & b;             // 12 = 0000 1100
   cout << "Line 1 - Value of c is : " << c << endl ;

   c = a | b;             // 61 = 0011 1101
   cout << "Line 2 - Value of c is: " << c << endl ;

   c = a ^ b;             // 49 = 0011 0001
   cout << "Line 3 - Value of c is: " << c << endl ;

   c = ~a;                // -61 = 1100 0011
   cout << "Line 4 - Value of c is: " << c << endl ;

   c = a << 2;            // 240 = 1111 0000
   cout << "Line 5 - Value of c is: " << c << endl ;

   c = a >> 2;            // 15 = 0000 1111
   cout << "Line 6 - Value of c is: " << c << endl ;

   return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, 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

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