C Operators

C provides rich operators, divided into arithmetic, relational, logical, bitwise, assignment, conditional, pointer, member, and comma operators.

1. Arithmetic Operators

+ - * / % ++ --

Note: Integer division truncates, be careful with /% and negative numbers; evaluation order of ++i vs i++.

2. Relational and Comparison

== != > < >= <=

3. Logical Operators

&& || !, short-circuit evaluation.

4. Bitwise Operators

& | ^ ~ << >>

• Commonly used for flag bits, masks, performance optimization

5. Assignment and Compound Assignment

= += -= *= /= %= <<= >>= &= |= ^=

6. Conditional Operator

cond ? a : b

7. Pointer and Member Operators

* & -> . []

8. sizeof and Alignment

sizeof(expr) or sizeof(type)

9. Operator Precedence and Associativity

• Multiplication before addition
• Use parentheses to improve readability, avoid relying on complex precedence

10. Example

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    unsigned x = 0b1010u; // when compiler supports binary literals
    unsigned y = 0b1100u;
    printf("x|y=%u, x&y=%u, x^y=%u\n", x|y, x&y, x^y);
    return 0;
}

11. Summary

Familiarity with operator semantics and precedence is the foundation for writing correct expressions; use parentheses to make intentions clearer.