C Operators
Operators
Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.
In the example below, we use the
+ operator to add together two values:
Although the + operator is often used to add together two values, like in the example above, it can also be used to add together a variable and a value, or a variable and another variable:
Example
int sum1 = 100 + 50;
// 150 (100 + 50)
int sum2 = sum1 + 250; // 400 (150 + 250)
int sum3 = sum2 + sum2; // 800 (400 + 400)
Try it Yourself »
C divides the operators into the following groups:
- Arithmetic operators
- Assignment operators
- Comparison operators
- Logical operators
- Bitwise operators
Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators are used to perform common mathematical operations.
| Operator | Name | Description | Example | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | Addition | Adds together two values | x + y | Try it » |
| - | Subtraction | Subtracts one value from another | x - y | Try it » |
| * | Multiplication | Multiplies two values | x * y | Try it » |
| / | Division | Divides one value by another | x / y | Try it » |
| % | Modulus | Returns the division remainder | x % y | Try it » |
| ++ | Increment | Increases the value of a variable by 1 | ++x | Try it » |
| -- | Decrement | Decreases the value of a variable by 1 | --x | Try it » |
Assignment Operators
Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables.
In the example below, we use the assignment operator (=)
to assign the value 10 to a variable called x:
The addition assignment operator (+=) adds a value to a variable:
A list of all assignment operators:
| Operator | Example | Same As | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|
| = | x = 5 | x = 5 | Try it » |
| += | x += 3 | x = x + 3 | Try it » |
| -= | x -= 3 | x = x - 3 | Try it » |
| *= | x *= 3 | x = x * 3 | Try it » |
| /= | x /= 3 | x = x / 3 | Try it » |
| %= | x %= 3 | x = x % 3 | Try it » |
| &= | x &= 3 | x = x & 3 | Try it » |
| |= | x |= 3 | x = x | 3 | Try it » |
| ^= | x ^= 3 | x = x ^ 3 | Try it » |
| >>= | x >>= 3 | x = x >> 3 | Try it » |
| <<= | x <<= 3 | x = x << 3 | Try it » |
Comparison Operators
Comparison operators are used to compare two values.
Note: The return value of a comparison is either true (1) or false (0).
In the following example, we use the greater than operator (>) to find out if 5 is greater than 3:
Example
int x = 5;
int y = 3;
printf("%d", x > y); // returns 1 (true) because 5 is greater than 3
Try it Yourself »
A list of all comparison operators:
| Operator | Name | Example | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|
| == | Equal to | x == y | Try it » |
| != | Not equal | x != y | Try it » |
| > | Greater than | x > y | Try it » |
| < | Less than | x < y | Try it » |
| >= | Greater than or equal to | x >= y | Try it » |
| <= | Less than or equal to | x <= y | Try it » |
Logical Operators
Logical operators are used to determine the logic between variables or values:
| Operator | Name | Description | Example | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| && | Logical and | Returns true if both statements are true | x < 5 && x < 10 | Try it » |
| || | Logical or | Returns true if one of the statements is true | x < 5 || x < 4 | Try it » |
| ! | Logical not | Reverse the result, returns false if the result is true | !(x < 5 && x < 10) | Try it » |
Sizeof Operator
The memory size (in bytes) of a data type or a variable can be found with the sizeof operator:
Example
int myInt;
float myFloat;
double myDouble;
char myChar;
printf("%lu\n", sizeof(myInt));
printf("%lu\n", sizeof(myFloat));
printf("%lu\n", sizeof(myDouble));
printf("%lu\n", sizeof(myChar));
Try it Yourself »
Note that we use the %lu format specifer to print the result, instead of %d. It is because the compiler expects the sizeof operator to return a long unsigned int (%lu), instead of int (%d). On some computers it might work with %d, but it is safer to use %lu.
