Operators in C++

An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical
manipulations. C++ is rich in built-in operators and provides the following types of operators:

 Arithmetic Operators
 Relational Operators
 Logical Operators
 Bitwise Operators
 Assignment Operators
 Misc Operators

This chapter will examine the arithmetic, relational, logical, bitwise, assignment and other
operators one by one.

Arithmetic Operators:
There are following arithmetic operators supported by C++ language:

Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

Try the following example to understand all the arithmetic 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;

int main()
{

int a = 21;
int b = 10;
int c ;

c = a + b;
cout << "Line 1 - Value of c is :" << c << endl ;
c = a - b;
cout << "Line 2 - Value of c is :" << c << endl ;
c = a * b;
cout << "Line 3 - Value of c is :" << c << endl ;
c = a / b;
cout << "Line 4 - Value of c is :" << c << endl ;
c = a % b;
cout << "Line 5 - Value of c is :" << c << endl ;
c = a++;
 cout << "Line 6 - Value of c is :" << c << endl ;
c = a--;
cout << "Line 7 - 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: 31

Line 2 - Value of c is: 11
Line 3 - Value of c is: 210
Line 4 - Value of c is: 2
Line 5 - Value of c is: 1
Line 6 - Value of c is: 21
Line 7 - Value of c is: 22

Operator Description Example

+ Adds two operands A + B will give 30

Subtracts second operand

- A - B will give -10
from the first

* Multiplies both operands A * B will give 200

Divides numerator by de-

/ B / A will give 2
numerator

Modulus Operator and

% remainder of after an B % A will give 0
integer division

Increment operator,
++ increases integer value by A++ will give 11
one

Decrement operator,
decreases integer value by
-- one A-- will give 9
Relational Operators:
There are following relational operators supported by C++ language

Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

Try the following example to understand all the relational 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;

int main()
{
int a = 21;
int b = 10;
int c ;

if( a == b )
{
cout << "Line 1 - a is equal to b" << endl ;
}
else
{
cout << "Line 1 - a is not equal to b" << endl ;
}
if ( a < b )
{
cout << "Line 2 - a is less than b" << endl ;
}
else
{
cout << "Line 2 - a is not less than b" << endl ;
}
if ( a > b )
{
cout << "Line 3 - a is greater than b" << endl ;
}
else
{
cout << "Line 3 - a is not greater than b" << endl ;
}
/* Let's change the values of a and b */
a = 5;
b = 20;
if ( a <= b )
 {
cout << "Line 4 - a is either less than \
or euqal to b" << endl ;
}
if ( b >= a )
{
cout << "Line 5 - b is either greater than \
or equal to b" << endl ;
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - a is not equal to b

Line 2 - a is not less than b
Line 3 - a is greater than b
Line 4 - a is either less than or euqal to b
Line 5 - b is either greater than or equal to b

Operator Description Example

Checks if the values of two operands are

== equal or not, if yes then condition becomes (A == B) is not true.
true.

Checks if the values of two operands are

!= equal or not, if values are not equal then (A != B) is true.
condition becomes true.

Checks if the value of left operand is

> greater than the value of right operand, if (A > B) is not true.
yes then condition becomes true.

Checks if the value of left operand is less

< than the value of right operand, if yes then (A < B) is true.
condition becomes true.

Checks if the value of left operand is

greater than or equal to the value of right
>= (A >= B) is not true.
operand, if yes then condition becomes
true.
 Checks if the value of left operand is less
<= than or equal to the value of right operand, (A <= B) is true.
if yes then condition becomes true.

Logical Operators:
There are following logical operators supported by C++ language

Assume variable A holds 1 and variable B holds 0, then:

Try the following example to understand all the logical 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;

int main()
{
int a = 5;
int b = 20;
int c ;

if ( a && b )
{
cout << "Line 1 - Condition is true"<< endl ;
}
if ( a || b )
{
cout << "Line 2 - Condition is true"<< endl ;
}
/* Let's change the values of a and b */
a = 0;
b = 10;
if ( a && b )
{
cout << "Line 3 - Condition is true"<< endl ;
}
else
{
cout << "Line 4 - Condition is not true"<< endl ;
}
if ( !(a && b) )
{
 cout << "Line 5 - Condition is true"<< endl ;
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - Condition is true

Line 2 - Condition is true
Line 4 - Condition is not true
Line 5 - Condition is true

Operator Description Example

Called Logical AND operator. If both the

&& operands are non-zero, then condition (A && B) is false.
becomes true.

Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the

|| two operands is non-zero, then condition (A || B) is true.
becomes true.

Called Logical NOT Operator. Use to

reverses the logical state of its operand. If a
! !(A && B) is true.
condition is true, then Logical NOT
operator will make false.

Bitwise Operators:
Bitwise operator works on bits and perform bit-by-bit operation. The truth tables for &, |, and ^ are
as follows:

p q p&q p|q p^q

0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 1 1

1 1 1 1 0
 1 0 0 1 1

Assume if A = 60; and B = 13; now in binary format they will be as follows:

A = 0011 1100

B = 0000 1101

-----------------

A&B = 0000 1100

A|B = 0011 1101

A^B = 0011 0001

~A = 1100 0011

The Bitwise operators supported by C++ language are listed in the following table. Assume
variable A holds 60 and variable B holds 13, then:

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

Operator Description Example

Binary AND Operator copies a bit to the

& (A & B) will give 12 which is 0000 1100
result if it exists in both operands.

Binary OR Operator copies a bit if it exists

| (A | B) will give 61 which is 0011 1101
in either operand.

Binary XOR Operator copies the bit if it is

^ (A ^ B) will give 49 which is 0011 0001
set in one operand but not both.

(~A ) will give -61 which is 1100 0011 in 2's

Binary Ones Complement Operator is unary
~ complement form due to a signed binary
and has the effect of 'flipping' bits.
number.

Binary Left Shift Operator. The left

operands value is moved left by the
<< A << 2 will give 240 which is 1111 0000
number of bits specified by the right
operand.

>> Binary Right Shift Operator. The left A >> 2 will give 15 which is 0000 1111
operands value is moved right by the
 number of bits specified by the right
operand.

Assignment Operators:
There are following assignment operators supported by C++ language:

Try the following example to understand all the assignment 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()
{
int a = 21;
int c ;

c = a;
cout << "Line 1 - = Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c += a;
cout << "Line 2 - += Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c -= a;
cout << "Line 3 - -= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c *= a;
cout << "Line 4 - *= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c /= a;
cout << "Line 5 - /= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c = 200;
c %= a;
cout << "Line 6 - %= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;
 c <<= 2;
cout << "Line 7 - <<= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c >>= 2;
cout << "Line 8 - >>= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c &= 2;
cout << "Line 9 - &= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c ^= 2;
cout << "Line 10 - ^= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

c |= 2;
cout << "Line 11 - |= Operator, Value of c = : " <<c<< endl
;

return 0;
}
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - = Operator, Value of c = : 21

Line 2 - += Operator, Value of c = : 42
Line 3 - -= Operator, Value of c = : 21
Line 4 - *= Operator, Value of c = : 441
Line 5 - /= Operator, Value of c = : 21
Line 6 - %= Operator, Value of c = : 11
Line 7 - <<= Operator, Value of c = : 44
Line 8 - >>= Operator, Value of c = : 11
Line 9 - &= Operator, Value of c = : 2
Line 10 - ^= Operator, Value of c = : 0
Line 11 - |= Operator, Value of c = : 2

Operator Description Example

Simple assignment operator, Assigns values

= from right side operands to left side C = A + B will assign value of A + B into C
operand
 Add AND assignment operator, It adds right
+= operand to the left operand and assign the C += A is equivalent to C = C + A
result to left operand

Subtract AND assignment operator, It

subtracts right operand from the left
-= C -= A is equivalent to C = C - A
operand and assign the result to left
operand

Multiply AND assignment operator, It

multiplies right operand with the left
*= C *= A is equivalent to C = C * A
operand and assign the result to left
operand

Divide AND assignment operator, It divides

/= left operand with the right operand and C /= A is equivalent to C = C / A
assign the result to left operand

Modulus AND assignment operator, It

%= takes modulus using two operands and C %= A is equivalent to C = C % A
assign the result to left operand

<<= Left shift AND assignment operator C <<= 2 is same as C = C << 2

>>= Right shift AND assignment operator C >>= 2 is same as C = C >> 2

&= Bitwise AND assignment operator C &= 2 is same as C = C & 2

bitwise exclusive OR and assignment

^= C ^= 2 is same as C = C ^ 2
operator

bitwise inclusive OR and assignment

|= C |= 2 is same as C = C | 2
operator
Misc Operators
There are few other operators supported by C++ Language.

Operator Description

sizeof operator returns the size of a variable. For example, sizeof(a),

sizeof
where a is integer, will return 4.

Conditional operator. If Condition is true ? then it returns value X :

Condition ? X : Y
otherwise value Y

Comma operator causes a sequence of operations to be performed.

, The value of the entire comma expression is the value of the last
expression of the comma-separated list.

Member operators are used to reference individual members of

. (dot) and -> (arrow)
classes, structures, and unions.

Casting operators convert one data type to another. For example,

Cast
int(2.2000) would return 2.

Pointer operator & returns the address of an variable. For example

&
&a; will give actual address of the variable.

Pointer operator * is pointer to a variable. For example *var; will

*
pointer to a variable var.

Operators Precedence in C++:

Operator precedence determines the grouping of terms in an expression. This affects how an
expression is evaluated. Certain operators have higher precedence than others; for example, the
multiplication operator has higher precedence than the addition operator:

For example x = 7 + 3 * 2; here, x is assigned 13, not 20 because operator * has higher
precedence than +, so it first gets multiplied with 3*2 and then adds into 7.

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.
Try the following example to understand operators precedence concept available in C++. Copy
and paste the following C++ program in test.cpp file and compile and run this program.

Check the simple difference with and without parenthesis. This will produce different results
because (), /, * and + have different precedence. Higher precedence operators will be evaluated
first:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

main()
{
int a = 20;
int b = 10;
int c = 15;
int d = 5;
int e;

e = (a + b) * c / d; // ( 30 * 15 ) / 5
cout << "Value of (a + b) * c / d is :" << e << endl ;

e = ((a + b) * c) / d; // (30 * 15 ) / 5
cout << "Value of ((a + b) * c) / d is :" << e << endl ;

e = (a + b) * (c / d); // (30) * (15/5)

cout << "Value of (a + b) * (c / d) is :" << e << endl ;

e = a + (b * c) / d; // 20 + (150/5)
cout << "Value of a + (b * c) / d is :" << e << endl ;

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of (a + b) * c / d is :90
Value of ((a + b) * c) / d is :90
Value of (a + b) * (c / d) is :90
Value of a + (b * c) / d is :50

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