Operators in C++ – Types and Examples

In this article, we will discuss operators in C++.

Operators form the basis of a programming language. Operators are symbols that operate on operands. These operands can be variables or values. Operators help us to perform mathematical and logical computations.

Types of Operators in C++

In C++, operators are classified into 6 types:

1. Arithmetic Operators in C++

We use arithmetic operators to perform mathematical operations.

Here, Increment (++) and decrement (–) are unary operators, which means these work with a single operand. Rest are binary operators.

Example of C++ Arithmetic Operators

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() 
{
    int a, b;
    a = 8;
    b = 3;

    // Addition
    cout << "a + b = " << (a + b) << endl;

    // Subtraction
    cout << "a - b = " << (a - b) << endl;

    // Multiplication
    cout << "a * b = " << (a * b) << endl;

    // Division
    cout << "a / b = " << (a / b) << endl;

    // Modulus
    cout << "a % b = " << (a % b) << endl;
    
    // Increment
    cout << "++a = " << ++a << endl;
    
    //Decrement
    cout<< "--b = " << --b <<endl;

    return 0;
}

Output

2. Assignment Operators in C++

To assign value to a variable, we use assignment operators. Both the operands should be of same data type.

Example of C++ Assignment Operators

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() 
{
    int x, y;
    x = 8;
    y = 3;

    cout << "x = " << x << endl;
    cout << "y = " << y << endl;
    
    x /= y;
    cout << "x = " << x;

    return 0;
}

Output

3. Relational Operators in C++

Relational operators are used to compare two operands. The result of comparison is either true or false. In case of true, it returns 1 and 0 when false.

Example of C++ Relational Operators

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() 
{
   int x, y;
   x=5;
   y=9;
   bool result;
   
   result = (x!=y);
   cout<<"5!=9 is "<<result<<endl;
   result = (x>y);
   cout<<"5>9 is "<<result;
    
    return 0;
}

Output

4. Logical Operators in C++

Logical operators determine the logic between operands and check if expressions are true or false.

Logical NOT (!) is a unary operator.

Example of C++ Logical Operators

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() 
{
   int x=3, y=9;
   bool result;
   
   result = (x>4) && (y>6);        //false
   cout<<"(x>4) && (y>6) is "<<result<<endl;
   result = (x>4) || (y>6);            //true
   cout<<"(x>4) || (y>6) is "<<result<<endl;
   result = !(x<4);                       //false
   cout<<"!(x<4) is "<<result;
    
    return 0;
}

Output

5. Bitwise Operators in C++

We use bitwise operators to perform bit-level operations. Values of both operands are first converted into binary before operating on them. 

The right hand side operand of << and >> operators specifies the number of bits to be shifted.

Example of C++ Bitwise Operators

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() 
{
   int x=14, y=20;
   
   cout<<"x&y = "<< (x&y) <<endl;
   cout<<"x|y = "<< (x|y) <<endl;
   cout<<"x^y = "<< (x^y) <<endl;
   cout<<"1's Complement of x is "<< (~x) <<endl;
   cout<<"Left shift x by 2 bits, result = "<< (x<<2) <<endl;
   cout<<"Right shift y by 1 bit, result = "<< (y>>1);
    
    return 0;
}

Output

6. Other Operators in C++

Some other operators in C++ are:

Precedence of Operators in C++

In the table given below, the precedence of operators decreases from top to bottom.

Example to illustrate operator precedence in C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  int result1 = 5 + 10 / 3;
  int result2 = (5 + 10) / 3;
  cout<<result1<<endl;
  cout<<result2<<endl;
  result1==result2 ? cout<<"Equal" : cout<<"Unequal";
  return 0;
}

Output

Observe that we obtained different results for both the expressions because of operator precedence.

Summary

From this article, we learnt operators in C++. In C++, operators are mainly divided into 6 categories. We covered operators of each category with examples followed by the precedence of these operators.