⚡C++ Programming

Operators

Updated 2026-05-12

30 min read

Operators

In C++, operators are symbols that perform operations on variables and values. They are essential for performing calculations, comparisons, and logical evaluations in your programs. Understanding operators is crucial as they form the backbone of any programming language.

Introduction

Operators in C++ can be broadly categorized into several types: arithmetic, assignment, comparison, logical, bitwise, ternary, sizeof, comma, and scope resolution. Each type serves a specific purpose and has its own set of rules and precedence levels. In this tutorial, we will explore each type of operator with examples to help you understand their usage and importance.

Core Content

Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators are used for performing basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and modulus.

Operator	Description	Example
`+`	Addition	`a + b`
`-`	Subtraction	`a - b`
`*`	Multiplication	`a * b`
`/`	Division	`a / b`
`%`	Modulus (remainder)	`a % b`

arithmetic.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 3;
6  cout << "Addition: " << a + b << endl;
7  cout << "Subtraction: " << a - b << endl;
8  cout << "Multiplication: " << a * b << endl;
9  cout << "Division: " << a / b << endl;
10  cout << "Modulus: " << a % b << endl;
11  return 0;
12}

Output

Addition: 13
Subtraction: 7
Multiplication: 30
Division: 3
Modulus: 1

Assignment Operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. The basic assignment operator is =.

Operator	Description	Equivalent To
`=`	Simple assignment	`a = b`
`+=`	Addition assignment	`a = a + b`
`-=`	Subtraction assignment	`a = a - b`
`*=`	Multiplication assignment	`a = a * b`
`/=`	Division assignment	`a = a / b`
`%=`	Modulus assignment	`a = a % b`

assignment.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  a += b; // Equivalent to: a = a + b
7  cout << "a after += : " << a << endl;
8  
9  a -= b; // Equivalent to: a = a - b
10  cout << "a after -= : " << a << endl;
11  
12  a *= b; // Equivalent to: a = a * b
13  cout << "a after *= : " << a << endl;
14  
15  a /= b; // Equivalent to: a = a / b
16  cout << "a after /= : " << a << endl;
17  
18  a %= b; // Equivalent to: a = a % b
19  cout << "a after %= : " << a << endl;
20  
21  return 0;
22}

Output

a after += : 15
a after -= : 10
a after *= : 50
a after /= : 10
a after %= : 0

Comparison Operators

Comparison operators are used to compare two values. They return a boolean result (true or false).

Operator	Description	Example
`==`	Equal to	`a == b`
`!=`	Not equal to	`a != b`
`>`	Greater than	`a > b`
`<`	Less than	`a < b`
`>=`	Greater than or equal to	`a >= b`
`<=`	Less than or equal to	`a <= b`

comparison.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  
7  if (a == b) cout << "a is equal to b" << endl;
8  else cout << "a is not equal to b" << endl;
9  
10  if (a > b) cout << "a is greater than b" << endl;
11  else cout << "a is not greater than b" << endl;
12  
13  return 0;
14}

Output

a is not equal to b
a is greater than b

Logical Operators

Logical operators are used to combine conditional statements. They include AND, OR, and NOT operations.

Operator	Description	Example
`&&`	Logical AND	`a && b`
`\|\|`	Logical OR	`a \|\| b`
`!`	Logical NOT	`!a`

logical.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  
7  if (a > 0 && b > 0) cout << "Both a and b are positive" << endl;
8  else cout << "At least one of a or b is non-positive" << endl;
9  
10  if (a > 0 || b > 0) cout << "At least one of a or b is positive" << endl;
11  else cout << "Neither a nor b is positive" << endl;
12  
13  if (!a) cout << "a is zero" << endl;
14  else cout << "a is not zero" << endl;
15  
16  return 0;
17}

Output

Both a and b are positive
At least one of a or b is positive
a is not zero

Bitwise Operators

Bitwise operators perform operations on individual bits of numbers. They include AND, OR, XOR, NOT, left shift, and right shift.

Operator	Description	Example
`&`	Bitwise AND	`a & b`
`\|`	Bitwise OR	`a \| b`
`^`	Bitwise XOR	`a ^ b`
`~`	Bitwise NOT	`~a`
`<<`	Left shift	`a << 1`
`>>`	Right shift	`a >> 1`

bitwise.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 5, b = 3; // Binary: a = 0101, b = 0011
6  
7  cout << "Bitwise AND: " << (a & b) << endl; // 0001 -> 1
8  cout << "Bitwise OR: " << (a | b) << endl; // 0111 -> 7
9  cout << "Bitwise XOR: " << (a ^ b) << endl; // 0110 -> 6
10  cout << "Bitwise NOT of a: " << (~a) << endl; // 1010 -> -6 (two's complement)
11  
12  cout << "Left shift of a by 1: " << (a << 1) << endl; // 1010 -> 10
13  cout << "Right shift of a by 1: " << (a >> 1) << endl; // 0010 -> 2
14  
15  return 0;
16}

Output

Bitwise AND: 1
Bitwise OR: 7
Bitwise XOR: 6
Bitwise NOT of a: -6
Left shift of a by 1: 10
Right shift of a by 1: 2

Ternary Operator

The ternary operator is a shorthand for the if-else statement. It takes three operands.

Syntax	Description
`condition ? expression1 : expression2`	If condition is true, evaluate expression1; otherwise, evaluate expression2

ternary.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  
7  int max = (a > b) ? a : b;
8  cout << "Max value: " << max << endl;
9  
10  return 0;
11}

Output

Max value: 10

sizeof Operator

The sizeof operator returns the size, in bytes, of its operand.

Syntax	Description
`sizeof(type)`	Returns the size of the specified type

sizeof.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  cout << "Size of int: " << sizeof(int) << " bytes" << endl;
6  cout << "Size of char: " << sizeof(char) << " byte" << endl;
7  cout << "Size of double: " << sizeof(double) << " bytes" << endl;
8  
9  return 0;
10}

Output

Size of int: 4 bytes
Size of char: 1 byte
Size of double: 8 bytes

Comma Operator

The comma operator evaluates its first operand and discards the result, then evaluates and returns the second operand.

Syntax	Description
`expression1, expression2`	Evaluates both expressions; returns the value of expression2

comma.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 5, b;
6  
7  b = (a++, a + 3); // First, a is incremented to 6, then a + 3 is evaluated as 9
8  cout << "b: " << b << endl; // Output: 9
9  
10  return 0;
11}

Output

b: 9

Scope Resolution Operator

The scope resolution operator :: is used to access members of a namespace or class.

Syntax	Description
`namespace::identifier`	Accesses identifier in the specified namespace

scope_resolution.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4namespace MyNamespace {
5  int value = 10;
6}
7 
8int main() {
9  cout << "Value from namespace: " << MyNamespace::value << endl;
10  
11  return 0;
12}

Output

Value from namespace: 10

Operator Precedence

Operator precedence determines the order in which operators are evaluated in an expression. Operators with higher precedence are evaluated first.

Precedence	Operator(s)
Highest	`()`
	`[]`
	`->`
	`::`
	`++`, `--` (postfix)
	`!`, `~`, `+`, `-` (unary)
	`*`, `/`, `%`
	`+`, `-`
	`<<`, `>>`
	`<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`
	`==`, `!=`
	`&`
	`\|`
	`^`
	`&&`
	`\|\|`
	`?:`
	`=` (and other assignment operators)
Lowest	`,`

precedence.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5, c = 2;
6  
7  int result = a + b * c; // Multiplication has higher precedence than addition
8  cout << "Result: " << result << endl; // Output: 20
9  
10  return 0;
11}

Output

Result: 20

Practical Example

Let's create a simple program that calculates the area of a rectangle using user input and demonstrates the use of various operators.

rectangle_area.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  double length, width;
6  
7  cout << "Enter the length of the rectangle: ";
8  cin >> length;
9  
10  cout << "Enter the width of the rectangle: ";
11  cin >> width;
12  
13  double area = length * width;
14  cout << "The area of the rectangle is: " << area << endl;
15  
16  return 0;
17}

Summary

Operator Type	Description
Arithmetic	Basic math operations
Assignment	Assign values to variables
Comparison	Compare two values
Logical	Combine conditional statements
Bitwise	Perform bitwise operations
Ternary	Shorthand for if-else
sizeof	Get size of data types
Comma	Evaluate multiple expressions
Scope Resolution	Access namespace or class members

What's Next?

In the next tutorial, we will explore Booleans and how they are used in C++ to represent true/false conditions. Understanding booleans is essential for controlling program flow with conditional statements.

Stay tuned!

⚡C++ Programming

Operators

Updated 2026-05-12

30 min read

Operators

Introduction

Core Content

Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators are used for performing basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and modulus.

Operator	Description	Example
`+`	Addition	`a + b`
`-`	Subtraction	`a - b`
`*`	Multiplication	`a * b`
`/`	Division	`a / b`
`%`	Modulus (remainder)	`a % b`

arithmetic.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 3;
6  cout << "Addition: " << a + b << endl;
7  cout << "Subtraction: " << a - b << endl;
8  cout << "Multiplication: " << a * b << endl;
9  cout << "Division: " << a / b << endl;
10  cout << "Modulus: " << a % b << endl;
11  return 0;
12}

Output

Addition: 13
Subtraction: 7
Multiplication: 30
Division: 3
Modulus: 1

Assignment Operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. The basic assignment operator is =.

Operator	Description	Equivalent To
`=`	Simple assignment	`a = b`
`+=`	Addition assignment	`a = a + b`
`-=`	Subtraction assignment	`a = a - b`
`*=`	Multiplication assignment	`a = a * b`
`/=`	Division assignment	`a = a / b`
`%=`	Modulus assignment	`a = a % b`

assignment.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  a += b; // Equivalent to: a = a + b
7  cout << "a after += : " << a << endl;
8  
9  a -= b; // Equivalent to: a = a - b
10  cout << "a after -= : " << a << endl;
11  
12  a *= b; // Equivalent to: a = a * b
13  cout << "a after *= : " << a << endl;
14  
15  a /= b; // Equivalent to: a = a / b
16  cout << "a after /= : " << a << endl;
17  
18  a %= b; // Equivalent to: a = a % b
19  cout << "a after %= : " << a << endl;
20  
21  return 0;
22}

Output

a after += : 15
a after -= : 10
a after *= : 50
a after /= : 10
a after %= : 0

Comparison Operators

Comparison operators are used to compare two values. They return a boolean result (true or false).

Operator	Description	Example
`==`	Equal to	`a == b`
`!=`	Not equal to	`a != b`
`>`	Greater than	`a > b`
`<`	Less than	`a < b`
`>=`	Greater than or equal to	`a >= b`
`<=`	Less than or equal to	`a <= b`

comparison.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  
7  if (a == b) cout << "a is equal to b" << endl;
8  else cout << "a is not equal to b" << endl;
9  
10  if (a > b) cout << "a is greater than b" << endl;
11  else cout << "a is not greater than b" << endl;
12  
13  return 0;
14}

Output

a is not equal to b
a is greater than b

Logical Operators

Logical operators are used to combine conditional statements. They include AND, OR, and NOT operations.

Operator	Description	Example
`&&`	Logical AND	`a && b`
`\|\|`	Logical OR	`a \|\| b`
`!`	Logical NOT	`!a`

logical.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  
7  if (a > 0 && b > 0) cout << "Both a and b are positive" << endl;
8  else cout << "At least one of a or b is non-positive" << endl;
9  
10  if (a > 0 || b > 0) cout << "At least one of a or b is positive" << endl;
11  else cout << "Neither a nor b is positive" << endl;
12  
13  if (!a) cout << "a is zero" << endl;
14  else cout << "a is not zero" << endl;
15  
16  return 0;
17}

Output

Both a and b are positive
At least one of a or b is positive
a is not zero

Bitwise Operators

Bitwise operators perform operations on individual bits of numbers. They include AND, OR, XOR, NOT, left shift, and right shift.

Operator	Description	Example
`&`	Bitwise AND	`a & b`
`\|`	Bitwise OR	`a \| b`
`^`	Bitwise XOR	`a ^ b`
`~`	Bitwise NOT	`~a`
`<<`	Left shift	`a << 1`
`>>`	Right shift	`a >> 1`

bitwise.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 5, b = 3; // Binary: a = 0101, b = 0011
6  
7  cout << "Bitwise AND: " << (a & b) << endl; // 0001 -> 1
8  cout << "Bitwise OR: " << (a | b) << endl; // 0111 -> 7
9  cout << "Bitwise XOR: " << (a ^ b) << endl; // 0110 -> 6
10  cout << "Bitwise NOT of a: " << (~a) << endl; // 1010 -> -6 (two's complement)
11  
12  cout << "Left shift of a by 1: " << (a << 1) << endl; // 1010 -> 10
13  cout << "Right shift of a by 1: " << (a >> 1) << endl; // 0010 -> 2
14  
15  return 0;
16}

Output

Bitwise AND: 1
Bitwise OR: 7
Bitwise XOR: 6
Bitwise NOT of a: -6
Left shift of a by 1: 10
Right shift of a by 1: 2

Ternary Operator

The ternary operator is a shorthand for the if-else statement. It takes three operands.

Syntax	Description
`condition ? expression1 : expression2`	If condition is true, evaluate expression1; otherwise, evaluate expression2

ternary.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5;
6  
7  int max = (a > b) ? a : b;
8  cout << "Max value: " << max << endl;
9  
10  return 0;
11}

Output

Max value: 10

sizeof Operator

The sizeof operator returns the size, in bytes, of its operand.

Syntax	Description
`sizeof(type)`	Returns the size of the specified type

sizeof.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  cout << "Size of int: " << sizeof(int) << " bytes" << endl;
6  cout << "Size of char: " << sizeof(char) << " byte" << endl;
7  cout << "Size of double: " << sizeof(double) << " bytes" << endl;
8  
9  return 0;
10}

Output

Size of int: 4 bytes
Size of char: 1 byte
Size of double: 8 bytes

Comma Operator

The comma operator evaluates its first operand and discards the result, then evaluates and returns the second operand.

Syntax	Description
`expression1, expression2`	Evaluates both expressions; returns the value of expression2

comma.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 5, b;
6  
7  b = (a++, a + 3); // First, a is incremented to 6, then a + 3 is evaluated as 9
8  cout << "b: " << b << endl; // Output: 9
9  
10  return 0;
11}

Output

b: 9

Scope Resolution Operator

The scope resolution operator :: is used to access members of a namespace or class.

Syntax	Description
`namespace::identifier`	Accesses identifier in the specified namespace

scope_resolution.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4namespace MyNamespace {
5  int value = 10;
6}
7 
8int main() {
9  cout << "Value from namespace: " << MyNamespace::value << endl;
10  
11  return 0;
12}

Output

Value from namespace: 10

Operator Precedence

Operator precedence determines the order in which operators are evaluated in an expression. Operators with higher precedence are evaluated first.

Precedence	Operator(s)
Highest	`()`
	`[]`
	`->`
	`::`
	`++`, `--` (postfix)
	`!`, `~`, `+`, `-` (unary)
	`*`, `/`, `%`
	`+`, `-`
	`<<`, `>>`
	`<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`
	`==`, `!=`
	`&`
	`\|`
	`^`
	`&&`
	`\|\|`
	`?:`
	`=` (and other assignment operators)
Lowest	`,`

precedence.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  int a = 10, b = 5, c = 2;
6  
7  int result = a + b * c; // Multiplication has higher precedence than addition
8  cout << "Result: " << result << endl; // Output: 20
9  
10  return 0;
11}

Output

Result: 20

Practical Example

Let's create a simple program that calculates the area of a rectangle using user input and demonstrates the use of various operators.

rectangle_area.cpp

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3 
4int main() {
5  double length, width;
6  
7  cout << "Enter the length of the rectangle: ";
8  cin >> length;
9  
10  cout << "Enter the width of the rectangle: ";
11  cin >> width;
12  
13  double area = length * width;
14  cout << "The area of the rectangle is: " << area << endl;
15  
16  return 0;
17}

Summary

Operator Type	Description
Arithmetic	Basic math operations
Assignment	Assign values to variables
Comparison	Compare two values
Logical	Combine conditional statements
Bitwise	Perform bitwise operations
Ternary	Shorthand for if-else
sizeof	Get size of data types
Comma	Evaluate multiple expressions
Scope Resolution	Access namespace or class members

What's Next?

Stay tuned!