Arduino - Operators



An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical functions. C language is rich in built-in operators and provides the following types of operators −

  • Arithmetic Operators
  • Comparison Operators
  • Boolean Operators
  • Bitwise Operators
  • Compound Operators

Arithmetic Operators

Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then −

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Operator name Operator simple Description Example
assignment operator = Stores the value to the right of the equal sign in the variable to the left of the equal sign. A = B
addition + Adds two operands A + B will give 30
subtraction - Subtracts second operand from the first A - B will give -10
multiplication * Multiply both operands A * B will give 200
division / Divide numerator by denominator B / A will give 2
modulo % Modulus Operator and remainder of after an integer division B % A will give 0

Comparison Operators

Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then −

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Operator name Operator simple Description Example
equal to == Checks if the value of two operands is equal or not, if yes then condition becomes true. (A == B) is not true
not equal to != Checks if the value of two operands is equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true. (A != B) is true
less than < Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. (A < B) is true
greater than > Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. (A > B) is not true
less than or equal to <= Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. (A <= B) is true
greater than or equal to >= Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. (A >= B) is not true

Boolean Operators

Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then −

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Operator name Operator simple Description Example
and && Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are non-zero then then condition becomes true. (A && B) is true
or || Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands is non-zero then then condition becomes true. (A || B) is true
not ! Called Logical NOT Operator. Use to reverses the logical state of its operand. If a condition is true then Logical NOT operator will make false. !(A && B) is false

Bitwise Operators

Assume variable A holds 60 and variable B holds 13 then −

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Operator name Operator simple Description Example
and & Binary AND Operator copies a bit to the result if it exists in both operands. (A & B) will give 12 which is 0000 1100
or | Binary OR Operator copies a bit if it exists in either operand (A | B) will give 61 which is 0011 1101
xor ^ Binary XOR Operator copies the bit if it is set in one operand but not both. (A ^ B) will give 49 which is 0011 0001
not ~ Binary Ones Complement Operator is unary and has the effect of 'flipping' bits. (~A ) will give -60 which is 1100 0011
shift left << Binary Left Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved left by the number of bits specified by the right operand. A << 2 will give 240 which is 1111 0000
shift right >> Binary Right Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved right by the number of bits specified by the right operand. A >> 2 will give 15 which is 0000 1111

Compound Operators

Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then −

Show Example

Operator name Operator simple Description Example
increment ++ Increment operator, increases integer value by one A++ will give 11
decrement -- Decrement operator, decreases integer value by one A-- will give 9
compound addition += Add AND assignment operator. It adds right operand to the left operand and assign the result to left operand B += A is equivalent to B = B+ A
compound subtraction -= Subtract AND assignment operator. It subtracts right operand from the left operand and assign the result to left operand B -= A is equivalent to B = B - A
compound multiplication *= Multiply AND assignment operator. It multiplies right operand with the left operand and assign the result to left operand B*= A is equivalent to B = B* A
compound division /= Divide AND assignment operator. It divides left operand with the right operand and assign the result to left operand B /= A is equivalent to B = B / A
compound modulo %= Modulus AND assignment operator. It takes modulus using two operands and assign the result to left operand B %= A is equivalent to B = B % A
compound bitwise or |= bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operator A |= 2 is same as A = A | 2
compound bitwise and &= Bitwise AND assignment operator A &= 2 is same as A = A & 2
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