12. In C language, is “int roll@no;” valid or invalid? Explain.
13. What do you understand by float type? Write down with example.
14. Write down the differences between variable and constant?
15. Write down the advantages of using constant in program.
Lesson 4: Operators and expressions of C language
4.1. Definition and description
Operator: An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or
logical operations. In other words we can say that an operator operates the operands.The data
items on which operators act upon are called operands. Operators are used in programs to
manipulate constant and operands.
Consider the expression A + B * 5. Where, +, * are operators, A, B are operands, 5 is
constant and A + B * 5 is an expression.
4.2. Classification of oparators
Depending on the number of operands that an operator can act upon, operators can be
classified as follows:
1. Unary Operators
2. Binary Operators
3. Ternary Operators
1. Unary Operators:Those operators that require only single operand to act upon are
known as unary operators. For Example increment(++) and decrement(–) operators.
2. Binary Operators:Those operators that require two operands to act upon are called
binary operators.Binary operators are classified into :
1. Arithmetic operators (+, -, * etc.)
2. Relational Operators ( <, >, ==)
3. Logical Operators (&&, ||)
4. Assignment Operators (=, +=, -=)
5. Bitwise Operators (&, |)
3. Ternary Operators: These operators requires three operands to act upon. For
Example Conditional operator(?:).
4.3. Types of operator based on operations
C operators can be classified into following types based on operations:
1. Arithmetic operators
2. Relational operators
3. Logical operators
4. Assignment operators
5. Increment/decrement operators
6. Conditional operators
7. Bitwise operators
8. Special operators
Arithmetic operators:These operators are used to perform mathematical calculations on
operands like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and modulus.
Operators Description
+ Adds two operands.
− Subtracts second operand from the first.
* Multiplies both operands.
/ Divides numerator by de-numerator.
% Modulus Operator and remainder of after an integer division.
Relational operators: These operators are used to compare the value of two operands. For
example: checking if one operand is equal to the other operand or not, an operand is greater
than the other operand or not etc.
Operators Description Example
Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not. If
== yes, then the condition becomes true. (A == B) is not true.
Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not. If
the values are not equal, then the condition becomes
!= true. (A != B) is true.
Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the
value of right operand. If yes, then the condition
> becomes true. (A > B) is not true.
Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value
< of right operand. If yes, then the condition becomes true. (A < B) is true.
Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or
equal to the value of right operand. If yes, then the
>= condition becomes true. (A >= B) is not true.
Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal
to the value of right operand. If yes, then the condition
<= becomes true. (A <= B) is true.
Logical operators: Logical Operators are used to combine two or more conditions/constraints
or to complement the evaluation of the original condition in consideration. The result of the
operation of a logical operator is a boolean value either true or false.
Operator Description Example
Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are
&& non-zero, then the condition becomes true. (A && B) is false.
Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands
|| is non-zero, then the condition becomes true. (A || B) is true.
Called Logical NOT Operator. It is used to reverse the
logical state of its operand. If a condition is true, then
! Logical NOT operator will make it false. !(A && B) is true.
Assignment operators: These operators are used to assign the values for the variables in C
programs. The left side operand of the assignment operator is a variable and right side
operand of the assignment operator is a value. The value on the right side must be of the same
data-type of variable on the left side otherwise the compiler will raise an error.
Operator Description Example
Simple assignment operator. Assigns values from right C = A + B will assign the
= side operands to left side operand value of A + B to C
Add AND assignment operator. It adds the right
operand to the left operand and assign the result to the C += A is equivalent to C =
+= left operand. C+A
Subtract AND assignment operator. It subtracts the
right operand from the left operand and assigns the C -= A is equivalent to C = C
-= result to the left operand. –A
Multiply AND assignment operator. It multiplies the
right operand with the left operand and assigns the C *= A is equivalent to C =
*= result to the left operand. C*A
Divide AND assignment operator. It divides the left
operand with the right operand and assigns the result to C /= A is equivalent to C = C
/= the left operand. /A
Modulus AND assignment operator. It takes modulus
using two operands and assigns the result to the left C %= A is equivalent to C =
%= operand. C%A
Increment/decrement operators: Increment Operators are used to increase the value of the
variable by one and Decrement Operators are used to decrease the value of the variable by
one in C programs. Both increment and decrement operator are used on a single operand and
variable, so it is called as a unary operator. Unary operators are having higher priority than the
other operators it means unary operators are executed before other operators.
9- Type of Increment Operator
o pre-increment
o post-increment
pre-increment (++ variable): In pre-increment first increment the value of variable and then
used inside the expression (initialize into another variable).
Example of pre-increment
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size:
1
14pt;">#include<stdio.h>
2
#include<conio.h>
3
4
main()
5
{
6
int x,i;
7
i=10;
8
x=++i;
9
printf("x: %d",x);
10
printf("i: %d",i);
11
getch();
12
}</span>
post-increment (variable ++): In Post-increment first value of variable is used in the
expression (initialize into another variable) and then increment the value of variable.
Example of post-increment
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size:
1
14pt;">#include<stdio.h>
2
#include<conio.h>
3
4
void main()
5
{
6
int x,i;
7
i=10;
8
x=i++;
9
printf("x: %d",x);
10
printf("i: %d",i);
11
getch();
12
}</span>
10-Type of Decrement Operator
o pre-decrement
o post-decrement
Pre-decrement (– variable): In pre-decrement first decrement the value of variable and then
used inside the expression (initialize into another variable).
Example of pre-decrement
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size:
14pt;">#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
void main()
int x,i;
i=10;
x=--i;
printf("x: %d",x);
printf("i: %d",i);
getch();
post-decrement (variable –): In Post-decrement first value of variable is used in the
expression (initialize into another variable) and then decrement the value of variable.
Example of post-decrement
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
void main()
int x,i;
i=10;
x=i--;
printf("x: %d",x);
printf("i: %d",i);
getch();
Conditional operators: Conditional operators return one value if condition is true and returns
another value is condition is false. This operator is also called as ternary operator.
Syntax : (Condition? true_value: false_value);
Example : (A < 0 ? Negative : Positive);
In above example, if A is less than 0, Negative is returned else Positive is returned. This is
equal to if else conditional statements.
Bitwise operators: These operators are used to perform bit-level operations on the
operands. The operators are first converted to bit-level and then calculation is performed on
the operands. Bitwise operators can not be used on float and double type data.
Truth table of bitwise operators:
Special operators: Below are some of the special operators that the C programming
language offers.
Operators Description
This is used to get the address of the variable.
& Example : &a will give address of a.
This is used as pointer to a variable.
* Example : * a where, * is pointer to the variable a.
This gives the size of the variable.
Sizeof () Example : size of (char) will give us 1.
4.3.Expression
Expression: Operators, functions, constants and variables are combined together to form
expressions. Consider the expression A + B * 5. where, +, * are operators, A, B are variables,
5 is constant and A + B * 5 is an expression.
Mathematical expressions are written in c program in the following way:
Operator precedence and associativity in expression:
Operator precedence determines which operator is performed first in an expression with more
than one operators with different precedence. For example 10 + 20 * 30 is calculated as 10 +
(20 * 30) and not as (10 + 20) * 30.
Associativity is used when two operators of same precedence appear in an expression.
Associativity can be either Left to Right or Right to Left. For example ‘*’ and ‘/’ have same
precedence and their associativity is Left to Right, so the expression “100 / 10 * 10” is treated
as “(100 / 10) * 10”.
Here, operators with the highest precedence appear at the top of the table, those with the
lowest appear at the bottom. Within an expression, higher precedence operators will be
evaluated first.
Category Operator Associativity
Postfix () [] -> . ++ – – Left to right
Unary + – ! ~ ++ – – (type)* & sizeof Right to left
Multiplicative */% Left to right
Additive +– Left to right
Shift << >> Left to right
Relational < <= > >= Left to right
Equality == != Left to right
Bitwise AND & Left to right
Bitwise XOR ^ Left to right
Bitwise OR | Left to right
Logical AND && Left to right
Logical OR || Left to right
Conditional ?: Right to left
Assignment = += -= *= /= %=>>= <<= &= ^= |= Right to left
Comma , Left to right
Lesson Evaluation-
Knowledge Based Questions:
a. What is operator?
a. What is unary operator?
a. What is binary operator?
a. What is ternary operator?
a. What is relational operator?
a. What is logical operator?
a. What is conditional operator?
a. What is expression?
a. What is operand?
a. What is operator precedence?
