MSDN Documentation

Understanding Operators in Depth

Operators are special symbols or keywords that perform operations on one or more operands. They are fundamental to programming, allowing you to manipulate data and control program flow. This section delves into the various types of operators available and their usage.

Arithmetic Operators

These operators are used to perform mathematical calculations:

Operator	Description	Example
+	Addition	int sum = 10 + 5;
-	Subtraction	int difference = 10 - 5;
*	Multiplication	int product = 10 * 5;
/	Division	int quotient = 10 / 5;
%	Modulo (Remainder)	int remainder = 10 % 3;
++	Increment	x++; (equivalent to x = x + 1;)
--	Decrement	x--; (equivalent to x = x - 1;)

Comparison Operators

These operators compare two values and return a boolean result (true or false):

Operator	Description	Example
==	Equal to	if (a == b) { ... }
!=	Not equal to	if (a != b) { ... }
>	Greater than	if (a > b) { ... }
<	Less than	if (a < b) { ... }
>=	Greater than or equal to	if (a >= b) { ... }
<=	Less than or equal to	if (a <= b) { ... }

Logical Operators

These operators combine boolean expressions:

Operator	Description	Example
&&	Logical AND	if (condition1 && condition2) { ... }
||	Logical OR	if (condition1 || condition2) { ... }
!	Logical NOT	if (!condition) { ... }

Assignment Operators

These operators assign values to variables:

Operator	Description	Example
=	Assign	x = 5;
+=	Add and assign	x += 3; (equivalent to x = x + 3;)
-=	Subtract and assign	x -= 3; (equivalent to x = x - 3;)
*=	Multiply and assign	x *= 3; (equivalent to x = x * 3;)
/=	Divide and assign	x /= 3; (equivalent to x = x / 3;)
%=	Modulo and assign	x %= 3; (equivalent to x = x % 3;)

Bitwise Operators

These operators perform operations on individual bits of their operands.

(Detailed explanation of Bitwise Operators will be covered in an advanced topic.)

Other Operators

There are several other operators, including:

• Ternary Operator (?:): A shorthand for an if-else statement.
• Type Operators: Used to check types or perform type conversions.
• String Concatenation Operator (+): Used to join strings.

Understanding the correct usage and precedence of operators is crucial for writing efficient and error-free code.