9. Operators in C

C operators are symbols that are used to perform mathematical or logical manipulations. C programming language is rich with built-in operators.

C is a widely used programming language with many built-in operators for carrying out various actions and tasks as per program needs. An operator in C plays a role in manipulating data and performing operations on variables and values.

These symbols are operators, each representing a particular operation to be carried out on operands. They are used in conditional, mathematical, and logical expressions.

There is a wide range of operators in the C language; each belongs to a different category according to its functionalities.

Operators in C language take part in a program for manipulating data and variables and it also form a part of the mathematical or logical expressions.

Types of Operators in C

• Arithmetic Operators
• Increment and Decrement Operators
• Relational Operators
• Logical Operators
• Assignment Operators
• Conditional Operator
• Bitwise Operators
• Special Operators

Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operations are used for mathematical or arithmetic calculations, such as division (/), addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), etc., on operands. It performs operations on constants and variables, i.e., numerical values.

//Example:
#include  

int main() 
{ int i=3,j=7,k; 
k=i+j; 
printf("sum of two numbers is %d\n", k);
return 0; 
}

Output

Increment and Decrement Operators

• Increment and Decrement Operators are useful operators generally used to minimize the calculation, for example.
  • ++x & x++ this means x=x+1
  • or
  • –x & x−− this means x=x-1.
• But there is difference between ++ or −− written before or after the operand.
• Applying the pre-increment first add one to the operand and then the result is assigned to the variable on left.
• whereas post-increment first assigns the value to the variable on the left and then increment the operand.

Increment and decrement operators are exclusively used with variables and cannot be applied to constants or expressions.

//let us say:
int x = 5;

x++; // Now x is 6

x--;// Now x is 5

// a valid and invald use of pre/post inc/decrement operator
int x = 1, y = 1;

++x;     // valid

++5;      // invalid - increment operator operating on a constant value

++(x+y);  // invalid - increment operating on an expression

Example

#include
int main()
{   
  int x=5, y=7;
 printf(“ the pre increment operation %d”, ++x);  // first increment , then print
 printf(“ the pre increment operation %d”, ++y);  // first increment , then print

 printf(“ the post increment operation %d”, x++); // first print, then increment 
 printf(“ the post increment operation %d”, y++); // first print, then increment 
 printf(“ the post increment operation %d”, x++); // first print, then increment 
   
 return 0;
}

Output

Relational Operators

Relational operators in C compare the values of two operands in a program to determine their relationship. If the relationship is true, it returns 1; otherwise, it returns 0. These operators are commonly used for decision-making and loop operations.

For example, checking if one operand is greater or equal to another. Relational operators include ==, >= , <= .

Example: Program to check role of relational operators

// sample code to check role of relational operators
// By milndbhatt
#include

int main()
{
    int a = 10, b = 20;

    printf("a = %d\n", a);
    printf("b = %d\n\n", b);

    // Check a is greater than b.
    printf("a > b : %d\n", a > b);

    // Check a is greater than or equal to b.
    printf("a >= b : %d\n", a >= b);

    // Check a is smaller than b.
    printf("a < b : %d\n", a < b);

    // Check a is smaller than or equal to b.
    printf("a <= b : %d\n", a <= b);

    // Check a is equal to b.
    printf("a == b : %d\n", a == b);

    // Check a is not equal to b.
    printf("a != b : %d\n", a != b);

    
    return 0;
}

Output