C++ Operators

C++ Operators

Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.
In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values:

Example

int x = 100 + 50;

Although the + operator is often used to add together two values, like in the example above, it can also be used to add together a variable and a value, or a variable and another variable:

Example

int sum1 = 100 + 50; // 150 (100 + 50)

int sum2 = sum1 + 250; // 400 (150 + 250)

int sum3 = sum2 + sum2; // 800 (400 + 400)

Try it yourself!

 

C++ divides the operators into the following groups:

•     Arithmetic operators
•     Assignment operators
•     Comparison operators
•     Logical operators
•     Bitwise operators

Arithmetic Operators ( +, -, *, /, % )

Arithmetic operators are used to perform common mathematical operations.

The five arithmetical operations supported by C++ are:

Operator	Name	Description	Example	Try it
+	Addition	Adds together two values	x+y	Try it
-	Subtraction	Subtracts one value from another	x-y	Try it
*	Multiplication	Multiplies two values	x*y	Try it
/	Division	Divides one value by another	x/y	Try it
%	Modulo	Returns the division remainder	x%y	Try it

Increment and decrement (++,--)

++	Increment	Increases the value of a variable by 1	++x	Try it
--	Decrement	Decreases the value of a variable by 1	--x	Try it

Some expression can be shortened even more: the increase operator (++) and the decrease operator (--) increase or reduce by one the value stored in a variable. They are equivalent to +=1 and to -=1, respectively. Thus:

++x; 

x+=1; 

x=x=1;

are generally equivalent in its functionality; them three increment by one the value of x.

Example 1	Example 2
x=3; y=++x; //x contain 4, y contain 4	x=3 y=x++; // x contains 4, y contains 3

In Example 1, the value assigned to y is the value of x after being increased. While in Example 2, it is the value x had before being increased.