Operators are fundamental tools that are used to perform mathematical and logical operations.
Two terms we often come across while performing mathematical operations are:
Operand : An operand can be a variable or value or a result of function.
Operators : An operator can be defined as the operation that is to be performed on/between operands. Each operator’s functionality defers from each other.
Types of C Operators
| Type | List of operators |
| Arithmetic Operators | + , – , * , / , % |
| Relational Operators | == , != , <= , >= , < , > |
| Logical Operators | ! , && , || |
| Assignment Operators | = , += , -= , *= , /= , %= |
| Conditional/Ternary Operator | ?: |
| Bitwise Operators | & , | , << , >> , ^ , ~ |
| Increment/Decrement Operators | — , ++ |
| Special Operators | *var_name(pointer) , &var_name(reference) , sizeof |
1. Arithmetic Operators in C
| Operator | Operand | Operation | Functionality |
| + | a,b | Addition | a+b ; adds two operands |
| – | a,b | Subtraction | a-b ; subtracts one operand from another |
| * | a,b | Multiplication | a*b ; multiplies two operands |
| / | a,b | Division | a/b ; generates the quotient when two operands are divided |
| % | a,b | Modulus | a%b ; generates the remainder when two operands are divided |
2. Relational Operators in C
| Operator | Operation | Functionality |
| == | Equal to | Checks whether two operands are equal |
| != | Not equal to | Checks whether two operands are not equal |
| <= | Lesser than equal to | Checks if one operand is lesser than or equals to another |
| >= | Greater than equal to | Checks if one operand is greater than or equals to another |
| < | Lesser than | Checks if one operand is lesser than another |
| > | Greater than | Checks if one operand is greater than another |
3. Logical Operators in C
There are two types of Logical operators:
- Unary operators: works with one operand
- Binary operators: works with two operands
| Operator | Operand | Operation | Functionality |
| ! | a | Unary not | !a ; Returns negation on a constant or variable |
| && | a,b | Binary and | a&&b ; checks whether both the operands are true or not |
| || | a,b | Binary or | a||b ; checks whether either of the operands are true or not |
4. Assignment Operators in C
| Operator | Operand | Operation | Functionality |
| = | a,b | Assignment | a=b ; assigns value from right operand to left operand |
| += | a,b | Addition assignment | a+=b ; adds both operands and stores result in left operand |
| -= | a,b | Subtraction assignment | a-=b ; subtracts one from another operand and stores result in left operand |
| *= | a,b | Multiplication assignment | a*=b ; multiplies both operands and stores result in left operand |
| /= | a,b | Division assignment | a/=b ; stores quotient in left operand upon division of both operands |
| %= | a,b | Modulus assignment | a%=b ; stores remainder in left operand upon division of both operands |
5. Conditional/Ternary Operator in C
Conditional operator is used in place of an if-else statement.
| Syntax | Var_name = (condition) ? True_val : False_val |
| Example | a = ( b > c ) ? 1 : 0 |
| Functionality | If given condition is true returns the true value else returns false value |
6. Bitwise Operator in C
| Operator | Operand | Operation | Functionality |
| & | a,b | Bitwise and | a&b ; Returns decimal number upon performing AND operation on each bit of operand against each other (if both bits are 1 returns 1 else 0) |
| | | a,b | Bitwise or | a|b ; Returns decimal number upon performing OR operation on each bit of operand against each other (if either of the bit is 1 return 1 else 0) |
| << | a,b | Bitwise left shift | a<<b ; Shift 1st operand’s bits to specified number of positions(b) to left .
( result = a * 2 power b) |
| >> | a,b | Bitwise right shift | a<<b ; Shift 1st operand’s bits to specified number of positions(b) to right .
( result = a / 2 power b) |
| ^ | a,b | Bitwise XOR | a^b ; Returns decimal number upon performing XOR operation on each bit of operand against each other (if both bits are same returns 0 else 1) |
| ~ | a | Bitwise one’s complement | ~a ; returns one’s complement of operand |
7. Increment/Decrement Operators in C
| Operator | Operation | Syntax | Functionality |
| ++ |
|
b = ++a
b = a++ |
Increment operand by 1 before assigning it to b.
Increment operand by 1 after assigning it to b. |
| — |
|
b = –a
b = a– |
decrement operand by 1 before assigning it to b.
decrement operand by 1 after assigning it to b. |
8. Special Operators in C
- *var_name (pointer): it stores the address of a variable.
- &var_name (reference): it points to the address of existing variable providing a copy/alias of original data.
- Sizeof: returns size of the variable.