PreviousNext

Bitwise Operators in C

Bitwise operators are a fundamental part of the C programming language. They allow you to manipulate individual bits of data within variables. This can be useful in a variety of scenarios, such as working with binary data, optimizing memory usage, or performing low-level operations. In this article, we will explore the different bitwise operators in C and provide examples to help you understand their functionality.

Bitwise AND Operator (&)

The bitwise AND operator, denoted by the symbol “&”, performs a bitwise AND operation between the individual bits of two operands. It returns a new value where each bit is set to 1 only if the corresponding bits of both operands are also 1. Otherwise, the bit is set to 0.

Here’s an example to illustrate the bitwise AND operator: 


#include 

int main() {
    unsigned int a = 5;  // Binary: 00000101
    unsigned int b = 3;  // Binary: 00000011
    unsigned int result = a & b;  // Binary: 00000001

    printf("Result: %un", result);  // Output: Result: 1

    return 0;
}

In the above example, the bitwise AND operator is used to perform a logical AND operation between the binary representations of variables “a” and “b”. The resulting value is stored in the “result” variable, which is then printed to the console.

Bitwise OR Operator (|)

The bitwise OR operator, denoted by the symbol “|”, performs a bitwise OR operation between the individual bits of two operands. It returns a new value where each bit is set to 1 if at least one of the corresponding bits of the operands is 1. Otherwise, the bit is set to 0.

Here’s an example to illustrate the bitwise OR operator: 


#include 

int main() {
    unsigned int a = 5;  // Binary: 00000101
    unsigned int b = 3;  // Binary: 00000011
    unsigned int result = a | b;  // Binary: 00000111

    printf("Result: %un", result);  // Output: Result: 7

    return 0;
}

In the above example, the bitwise OR operator is used to perform a logical OR operation between the binary representations of variables “a” and “b”. The resulting value is stored in the “result” variable, which is then printed to the console.

Bitwise XOR Operator (^)

The bitwise XOR operator, denoted by the symbol “^”, performs a bitwise XOR (exclusive OR) operation between the individual bits of two operands. It returns a new value where each bit is set to 1 if the corresponding bits of the operands are different. Otherwise, the bit is set to 0.

Here’s an example to illustrate the bitwise XOR operator: 


#include 

int main() {
    unsigned int a = 5;  // Binary: 00000101
    unsigned int b = 3;  // Binary: 00000011
    unsigned int result = a ^ b;  // Binary: 00000110

    printf("Result: %un", result);  // Output: Result: 6

    return 0;
}

In the above example, the bitwise XOR operator is used to perform a logical XOR operation between the binary representations of variables “a” and “b”. The resulting value is stored in the “result” variable, which is then printed to the console.

Bitwise NOT Operator (~)

The bitwise NOT operator, denoted by the symbol “~”, performs a bitwise complement operation on a single operand. It flips each bit of the operand, changing 1s to 0s and 0s to 1s.

Here’s an example to illustrate the bitwise NOT operator: 


#include 

int main() {
    unsigned int a = 5;  // Binary: 00000101
    unsigned int result = ~a;  // Binary: 11111010

    printf("Result: %un", result);  // Output: Result: 250

    return 0;
}

In the above example, the bitwise NOT operator is used to perform a bitwise complement operation on the binary representation of variable “a”. The resulting value is stored in the “result” variable, which is then printed to the console.

Bitwise Left Shift Operator (<<)

The bitwise left shift operator, denoted by the symbol “<<“, shifts the bits of the left operand to the left by a specified number of positions. The vacant positions are filled with zeros. This operation effectively multiplies the left operand by 2 raised to the power of the right operand.

Here’s an example to illustrate the bitwise left shift operator: 


#include 

int main() {
    unsigned int a = 5;  // Binary: 00000101
    unsigned int result = a << 2;  // Binary: 00010100

    printf("Result: %un", result);  // Output: Result: 20

    return 0;
}

In the above example, the bitwise left shift operator is used to shift the binary representation of variable “a” two positions to the left. The resulting value is stored in the “result” variable, which is then printed to the console.

Bitwise Right Shift Operator (>>)

The bitwise right shift operator, denoted by the symbol “>>”, shifts the bits of the left operand to the right by a specified number of positions. The vacant positions are filled based on the sign of the left operand. If the left operand is unsigned, zeros are filled in. If the left operand is signed, the sign bit is replicated.

Here’s an example to illustrate the bitwise right shift operator: 


#include 

int main() {
    unsigned int a = 20;  // Binary: 00010100
    unsigned int result = a >> 2;  // Binary: 00000101

    printf("Result: %un", result);  // Output: Result: 5

    return 0;
}

In the above example, the bitwise right shift operator is used to shift the binary representation of variable “a” two positions to the right. The resulting value is stored in the “result” variable, which is then printed to the console.

Bitwise operators in C provide a powerful way to manipulate individual bits of data. Understanding how these operators work and how to use them effectively can greatly enhance your programming skills. By incorporating bitwise operations into your code, you can perform complex operations on binary data with ease and efficiency.

PreviousNext
Scroll to Top