Advanced Coding & Software Engineering Program

Operators in c

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Last Updated on: 5th Jul 2025 20:38:25 PM

Operators in C are special symbols used to perform operations on variables and values. They are essential to perform tasks like mathematical calculations, comparisons, logic, assignments, and more.

 

1. Arithmetic Operators

Used to perform basic mathematical operations.

 

Operator	Description	Example	Result
+	Addition	5 + 3	8
-	Subtraction	5 - 3	2
*	Multiplication	5 * 3	15
/	Division	10 / 2	5
%	Modulus (Remainder)	10 % 3	1

 

Example: 

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 10, b = 3;
    printf("Addition: %d\n", a + b);
    printf("Subtraction: %d\n", a - b);
    printf("Multiplication: %d\n", a * b);
    printf("Division: %d\n", a / b);
    printf("Modulus: %d\n", a % b);
    return 0;
}

 

2. Relational and Logical Operators

 

a. Relational Operators

Used to compare two values and return true (1) or false (0).

 

Operator	Description	Example (a = 5, b = 3)	Result
==	Equal to	a == b	0
!=	Not equal to	a != b	1
>	Greater than	a > b	1
<	Less than	a < b	0
>=	Greater or equal	a >= b	1
<=	Less or equal	a <= b	0

 

b. Logical Operators

Used to perform logical (boolean) operations.

 

Operator	Description	Example	Result
&&	Logical AND	a > 2 && b < 5	1
||	Logical OR	(a > 0 || b < 0)	1
!	Logical NOT	!(a == b)	1

 

Example: 

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 5, b = 3;
    printf("a > b: %d\n", a > b);
    printf("a == b: %d\n", a == b);
    printf("Logical AND: %d\n", a > 2 && b < 5);
    return 0;
}

 

3. Assignment and Unary Operators

Used to assign values to variables.

 

a. Assignment Operators

Used to assign values to variables.

 

Operator	Description	Example	Equivalent To
=	Simple assignment	a = 5;	Assign 5 to a
+=	Add and assign	a += 3; →	a = a + 3
-=	Subtract and assign	a -= 2;	a = a - 2
*=	Multiply and assign	a *= 4;	a = a * 3
/=	Divide and assign	a /= 2;	a = a / 2
%=	Modulus and assign	a %= 3;	a = a % 2

 

b. Unary Operators

Work with a single operand.

 

Operator	Description	Example	Result
++	Increment	a++	a = a + 1
--	Decrement	a--	a = a - 1
-	Unary minus	-a	Negates a
+	Unary plus	+a	Returns a
!	Logical NOT	!a	1 if a is 0

 

Example: 

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int x = 5;
    printf("x = %d\n", x);
    printf("x++ = %d\n", x++); // Post-increment
    printf("++x = %d\n", ++x); // Pre-increment
    return 0;
}

 

4. Bitwise, Ternary, and Special Operators 

 

a. Bitwise Operators

Operate on binary bits.

 

Operator	Name	Example (a=5, b=3)	Result (Binary)
&	AND	a & b	1 (0101 & 0011 = 0001)
`	`	OR	`a
^	XOR	a ^ b	6 (0101 ^ 0011 = 0110)
~	NOT	~a	-6 (Inverts all bits)
<<	Left Shift	a << 1	10
>>	Right Shift	a >> 1	2

 

b. Ternary Operator (?:) 

A shorthand for if-else.

 

Syntax:

(condition) ? value_if_true : value_if_false;

 

Example:

int a = 10, b = 20;
int max = (a > b) ? a : b;

max will store the greater value between a and b.

 

c. Special Operators

 

Operator	Purpose
sizeof	Returns the size of a data type or variable
&	Address-of (used with pointers or scanf)
*	Pointer dereference
->	Access structure member via pointer
.	Access structure member

 

Example:

int a = 5;
printf("Size of a: %lu", sizeof(a));  // Output: 4 (depends on system)

 

Quick Summary Table :

Operator Type	Examples	Purpose
Arithmetic	+, -, *, /, %	Math operations
Relational	==, !=, >, <	Compare values
Logical	&&, `
Assignment	=, +=, -=	Assign values
Unary	++, --, -, !	One-operand operations
Bitwise	&, `	, ^, ~, <<`
Ternary	? :	Shorthand if-else
Special	sizeof, &, *, .	Memory, pointer, structure access

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