Java provides a rich set of operators to manipulate variables. We can divide all the Java operators into the following groups:
- Arithmetic Operators
- Relational Operators
- Bitwise Operators
- Logical Operators
- Assignment Operators
- Misc Operators
The Arithmetic Operators:
Arithmetic operators are used in mathematical expressions in the same way that they are used in algebra. The following table lists the arithmetic operators:
Assume integer variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:
+ ( Addition ) = Adds values on either side of the operator
Example: A + B will give 30
- ( Subtraction ) = Subtracts right hand operand from left hand operand
Example: A - B will give -10
* ( Multiplication ) = Multiplies values on either side of the operator
Example: A * B will give 200
/ (Division) = Divides left hand operand by right hand operand
Example: B / A will give 2
% (Modulus) = Divides left hand operand by right hand operand and returns remainder
Example: B % A will give 0
++ (Increment) = Increases the value of operand by 1
Example: B++ gives 21
-- ( Decrement ) = Decreases the value of operand by 1
Example: B-- gives 19
The Relational Operators:
There are following relational operators supported by Java language
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:
== (equal to) : Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if yes then condition becomes true.
Example: (A == B) is not true.
!= (not equal to) : Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true.
Example: (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.
Example: (A > B) is not true.
< (less than) : Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true.
Example: (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.
Example (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.
Example(A <= B) is true.
The Bitwise Operators:
Java defines several bitwise operators, which can be applied to the integer types, long, int, short, char, and byte.
Bitwise operator works on bits and performs bit-by-bit operation. Assume if a = 60; and b = 13; now in binary format they will be as follows:
a = 0011 1100
b = 0000 1101
-----------------
a&b = 0000 1100
a|b = 0011 1101
a^b = 0011 0001
~a = 1100 0011
The Logical Operators:
The following table lists the logical operators:
Assume Boolean variables A holds true and variable B holds false, then:
&& (logical and) : Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are non-zero, then the condition becomes true.
Example (A && B) is false.
|| (logical or) : Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands are non-zero, then the condition becomes true.
Example (A || B) is true.
! (logical 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.
Example !(A && B) is true.
The Assignment Operators:
There are following assignment operators supported by Java language:
Show Examples
= : Simple assignment operator, Assigns values from right side operands to left side operand.
Example: C = A + B will assign value of A + B into C
+= : Add AND assignment operator, It adds right operand to the left operand and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C += A is equivalent to C = C + A
-= : Subtract AND assignment operator, It subtracts right operand from the left operand and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C -= A is equivalent to C = C - A
*= : Multiply AND assignment operator, It multiplies right operand with the left operand and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C *= A is equivalent to C = C * A
/= : Divide AND assignment operator, It divides left operand with the right operand and assign the result to left operand
ExampleC /= A is equivalent to C = C / A
%= : Modulus AND assignment operator, It takes modulus using two operands and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C %= A is equivalent to C = C % A
<<= : Left shift AND assignment operator.
Example: C <<= 2 is same as C = C << 2
>>= : Right shift AND assignment operator
Example C >>= 2 is same as C = C >> 2
&= : Bitwise AND assignment operator.
Example: C &= 2 is same as C = C & 2
^= : bitwise exclusive OR and assignment operator.
Example: C ^= 2 is same as C = C ^ 2
|= : bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operator.
Example: C |= 2 is same as C = C | 2
Miscellaneous Operators
There are few other operators supported by Java Language.
Conditional Operator ( ? : )
Conditional operator is also known as the ternary operator. This operator consists of three operands and is used to evaluate Boolean expressions. The goal of the operator is to decide which value should be assigned to the variable. The operator is written as:
variable x = (expression) ? value if true : value if false
Following is the example:
public class Test {
public static void main(String args[]){
int a, b;
a = 10;
b = (a == 1) ? 20: 30;
System.out.println( "Value of b is : " + b );
b = (a == 10) ? 20: 30;
System.out.println( "Value of b is : " + b );
}
}
This would produce the following result -
Value of b is : 30
Value of b is : 20
instance of Operator:
This operator is used only for object reference variables. The operator checks whether the object is of a particular type (class type or interface type). instanceof operator is wriiten as:
( Object reference variable ) instanceof (class/interface type)
If the object referred by the variable on the left side of the operator passes the IS-A check for the class/interface type on the right side, then the result will be true. Following is the example:
public class Test {
public static void main(String args[]){
String name = "James";
// following will return true since name is type of String
boolean result = name instanceof String;
System.out.println( result );
}
}
This would produce the following result:
true
This operator will still return true if the object being compared is the assignment compatible with the type on the right. Following is one more example:
class Vehicle {}
public class Car extends Vehicle {
public static void main(String args[]){
Vehicle a = new Car();
boolean result = a instanceof Car;
System.out.println( result );
}
}
This would produce the following result:
true
- Arithmetic Operators
- Relational Operators
- Bitwise Operators
- Logical Operators
- Assignment Operators
- Misc Operators
The Arithmetic Operators:
Arithmetic operators are used in mathematical expressions in the same way that they are used in algebra. The following table lists the arithmetic operators:
Assume integer variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:
+ ( Addition ) = Adds values on either side of the operator
Example: A + B will give 30
- ( Subtraction ) = Subtracts right hand operand from left hand operand
Example: A - B will give -10
* ( Multiplication ) = Multiplies values on either side of the operator
Example: A * B will give 200
/ (Division) = Divides left hand operand by right hand operand
Example: B / A will give 2
% (Modulus) = Divides left hand operand by right hand operand and returns remainder
Example: B % A will give 0
++ (Increment) = Increases the value of operand by 1
Example: B++ gives 21
-- ( Decrement ) = Decreases the value of operand by 1
Example: B-- gives 19
The Relational Operators:
There are following relational operators supported by Java language
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:
== (equal to) : Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if yes then condition becomes true.
Example: (A == B) is not true.
!= (not equal to) : Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true.
Example: (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.
Example: (A > B) is not true.
< (less than) : Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true.
Example: (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.
Example (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.
Example(A <= B) is true.
The Bitwise Operators:
Java defines several bitwise operators, which can be applied to the integer types, long, int, short, char, and byte.
Bitwise operator works on bits and performs bit-by-bit operation. Assume if a = 60; and b = 13; now in binary format they will be as follows:
a = 0011 1100
b = 0000 1101
-----------------
a&b = 0000 1100
a|b = 0011 1101
a^b = 0011 0001
~a = 1100 0011
The Logical Operators:
The following table lists the logical operators:
Assume Boolean variables A holds true and variable B holds false, then:
&& (logical and) : Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are non-zero, then the condition becomes true.
Example (A && B) is false.
|| (logical or) : Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands are non-zero, then the condition becomes true.
Example (A || B) is true.
! (logical 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.
Example !(A && B) is true.
The Assignment Operators:
There are following assignment operators supported by Java language:
Show Examples
= : Simple assignment operator, Assigns values from right side operands to left side operand.
Example: C = A + B will assign value of A + B into C
+= : Add AND assignment operator, It adds right operand to the left operand and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C += A is equivalent to C = C + A
-= : Subtract AND assignment operator, It subtracts right operand from the left operand and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C -= A is equivalent to C = C - A
*= : Multiply AND assignment operator, It multiplies right operand with the left operand and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C *= A is equivalent to C = C * A
/= : Divide AND assignment operator, It divides left operand with the right operand and assign the result to left operand
ExampleC /= A is equivalent to C = C / A
%= : Modulus AND assignment operator, It takes modulus using two operands and assign the result to left operand.
Example: C %= A is equivalent to C = C % A
<<= : Left shift AND assignment operator.
Example: C <<= 2 is same as C = C << 2
>>= : Right shift AND assignment operator
Example C >>= 2 is same as C = C >> 2
&= : Bitwise AND assignment operator.
Example: C &= 2 is same as C = C & 2
^= : bitwise exclusive OR and assignment operator.
Example: C ^= 2 is same as C = C ^ 2
|= : bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operator.
Example: C |= 2 is same as C = C | 2
Miscellaneous Operators
There are few other operators supported by Java Language.
Conditional Operator ( ? : )
Conditional operator is also known as the ternary operator. This operator consists of three operands and is used to evaluate Boolean expressions. The goal of the operator is to decide which value should be assigned to the variable. The operator is written as:
variable x = (expression) ? value if true : value if false
Following is the example:
public class Test {
public static void main(String args[]){
int a, b;
a = 10;
b = (a == 1) ? 20: 30;
System.out.println( "Value of b is : " + b );
b = (a == 10) ? 20: 30;
System.out.println( "Value of b is : " + b );
}
}
This would produce the following result -
Value of b is : 30
Value of b is : 20
instance of Operator:
This operator is used only for object reference variables. The operator checks whether the object is of a particular type (class type or interface type). instanceof operator is wriiten as:
( Object reference variable ) instanceof (class/interface type)
If the object referred by the variable on the left side of the operator passes the IS-A check for the class/interface type on the right side, then the result will be true. Following is the example:
public class Test {
public static void main(String args[]){
String name = "James";
// following will return true since name is type of String
boolean result = name instanceof String;
System.out.println( result );
}
}
This would produce the following result:
true
This operator will still return true if the object being compared is the assignment compatible with the type on the right. Following is one more example:
class Vehicle {}
public class Car extends Vehicle {
public static void main(String args[]){
Vehicle a = new Car();
boolean result = a instanceof Car;
System.out.println( result );
}
}
This would produce the following result:
true
