Operators are used to perform following operations- arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication & division), compare values of two variables, to apply bitwise operations, etc.
There are seven types of operators in Java which are explained below-
If you want to perform basic algebraic operations like +, -, * and / in Java then use arithmetic operators. Java provides seven arithmetic operators which are explained below-
| Operator | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| + | value1 + value2 | Adds value1 and value2. |
| - | value1 - value2 | Subtract value2 from value1. |
| ++ | value1 ++ value2 | Increment value1 by 1. |
| -- | value1 -- value2 | decrement value1 by 1. |
| * | value1 * value2 | Multiplies value1 by value2. |
| / | value1 / value2 | Divides value1 by value2. |
| % | value1 % value2 | Calculates the remainder of dividing value1 by value2. |
It is also known as a comparison operators. It compares the values of two operands and returns a boolean value- true or false.
| Operator | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| == | value1 == value2 | if value1 and value2 are equal, then the result is true otherwise false. |
| != | value1 != value2 | if value1 and value2 are not equal, then the result is true otherwise false. |
| > | value1 > value2 | if value1 is greater than value2, then the result is true otherwise false. |
| >= | value1 >= value2 | if value1 is greater or equal than value2, then the result is true otherwise false. |
| < | value1 < value2 | if value1 is less than value2, then the result is true otherwise false. |
| <= | value1 <= value2 | if value1 is less or equal than value2, then the result is true otherwise false. |
Java provides six bitwise operators to manipulate the bits of integer value. You can apply these operators on byte, short, int, long, and char value.
| Operator | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bitwise AND(&) | value1 & value2 | It performs AND logic on numbers at bit level. |
| Bitwise OR(|) | value1 | value2 | It performs OR logic on numbers at bit level. |
| Bitwise XOR(^) | value1 ^ value2 | It performs XOR logic on numbers at bit level. |
| Bitwise Inversion(~) | ~value1 | This operator inverts the value of each bit of the operand. |
| Right shift(>>) | value1 >> value2 | It right shifts the bits of values1 by values2 times. |
| Left shift(<<) | value1 << value2 | It left shifts the bits of values1 by values2 times. |
Bitwise AND, OR, and XOR follows the truth table while performing operation-
| x | y | x & y | x | y | x ^ y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Logical operators are also known as short-circuit logical operators. There are three logical operators which are explained below-
| Operator | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Logical AND(&&) | expression1 && expression2 | It checks the second operand when the first operand turns out to be true. If the first operand evaluates to false, then the second operand is not even checked. |
| Logical OR(||) | expression1 || expression2 | It checks the second operand when the first operand is false. If the first operand evaluates to true, then the second operand is not even checked. |
| Logical NOT(!) | !expression1 | If an expression gives true, then this operator would inverse it and produces false. Similarly, if an expression gives false, then this operator would make it true. |
The assignment operator is used to assign the value to a variable. There is a variation in assignment operator when it is comined with other operators. Such a variation is called shortcut assignment operators.
Let's see how we can use these operators-
a = a + b;
With shortcut assignment operator, you can write like this-
a += b;
| Operator | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| += | value1 += value2 | value1 = value1 + value2 |
| -= | value1 -= value2 | value1 = value1 - value2 |
| *= | value1 *= value2 | value1 = value1 * value2 |
| /= | value1 /= value2 | value1 = value1 / value2 |
| %= | value1 %= value2 | value1 = value1 % value2 |
| &= | value1 &= value2 | value1 = value1 & value2 |
| |= | value1 |= value2 | value1 = value1 | value2 |
| ^= | value1 ^= value2 | value1 = value1 ^ value2 |
| <<= | value1 <<= value2 | value1 = value1 << value2 |
| >>= | value1 >>= value2 | value1 = value1 >> value2 |
| >>>= | value1 >>>= value2 | value1 = value1 >>> value2 |
You can think it as a shortcut of an if-else statement. It is called ternary operator because it involves the three operands. Consider the following if-else statement-
if(a>b)
c = 10;
else
c = 12;
With ternary operator, you can do it in one line. The equivalent of above if-else statement is
c = (a > b) ? 10 : 12;
Apart from the above operators, Java also provides some operators which are explained-
