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Cpp Operators

📅 2026-06-20 | 📂 C++

An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical operations. C++ has a rich set of built-in operators and provides the following types of operators:

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  • Arithmetic Operators
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  • Relational Operators
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  • Logical Operators
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  • Bitwise Operators
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  • Assignment Operators
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  • Miscellaneous Operators
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This chapter will introduce arithmetic operators, relational operators, logical operators, bitwise operators, assignment operators, and other operators one by one.

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The following table shows the arithmetic operators supported by C++.

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Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

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OperatorDescriptionExample
+Adds two operands.A + B will give 30
-Subtracts second operand from the first.A - B will give -10
*Multiplies both operands.A * B will give 200
/Divides numerator by de-numerator.B / A will give 2
%Modulus Operator and remainder of after an integer division.B % A will give 0
++Increment Operator, increases integer value by one.A++ will give 11
--Decrement Operator, decreases integer value by one.A-- will give 9
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Example

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Look at the following example to understand the available arithmetic operators in C++.

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Copy and paste the following C++ program into test.cpp file, compile and run the program.

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Example

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#include<iostream>\\nusing namespace std;\\n\\nint main()\\n{\\n    int a = 21;\\n    int b = 10;\\n    int c;\\n\\n    c = a + b;\\n    cout << "Line 1 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n    c = a - b;\\n    cout << "Line 2 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n    c = a * b;\\n    cout << "Line 3 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n    c = a / b;\\n    cout << "Line 4 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n    c = a % b;\\n    cout << "Line 5 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    int d = 10;\\n    c = d++;\\n    cout << "Line 6 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    d = 10;\\n    c = d--;\\n    cout << "Line 7 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    return 0;\\n}
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When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

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Line 1 - c the value is 31\\nLine 2 - c the value is 11\\nLine 3 - c the value is 210\\nLine 4 - c the value is 2\\nLine 5 - c the value is 1\\nLine 6 - c the value is 10\\nLine 7 - c the value is 10
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The following table shows the relational operators supported by C++.

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Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

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OperatorDescriptionExample
==Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if yes then condition becomes true.(A == B) is not true.
!=Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true.(A != B) is true.
>Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true.(A > B) is not true.
<Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true.(A < B) is true.
>=Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true.(A >= B) is not true.
<=Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true.(A <= B) is true.
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Example

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Look at the following example to understand the available relational operators in C++.

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Copy and paste the following C++ program into test.cpp file, compile and run the program.

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Example

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#include<iostream>\\nusing namespace std;\\n\\nint main()\\n{\\n    int a = 21;\\n    int b = 10;\\n    int c ;\\n\\n    if( a == b )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 1 - a equal to b" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    else\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 1 - a not equal to b" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    if ( a < b )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 2 - a less than b" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    else\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 2 - a Noless than b" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    if ( a > b )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 3 - a greater than b" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    else\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 3 - a Nogreater than b" << endl ;\\n    }\\n\\n    a = 5;\\n    b = 20;\\n    if ( a <= b )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 4 - a Less than or equal to b" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    if ( b >= a )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 5 - b Greater than or equal to a" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    return 0;\\n}
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When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

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Line 1 - a not equal to b\\nLine 2 - a Noless than b\\nLine 3 - a greater than b\\nLine 4 - a Less than or equal to b\\nLine 5 - b Greater than or equal to a
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The following table shows the logical operators supported by C++.

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Assume variable A holds 1 and variable B holds 0, then:

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OperatorDescriptionExample
&&Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are non-zero, then condition becomes true.(A && B) is false.
||Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands is non-zero, then condition becomes true.(A || B) is true.
!Called Logical NOT Operator. It is used to reverse the logical state of its operand. If a condition is true then Logical NOT operator will make it false.!(A && B) is true.
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Example

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Look at the following example to understand the available logical operators in C++.

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Copy and paste the following C++ program into test.cpp file, compile and run the program.

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Example

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#include<iostream>\\nusing namespace std;\\n\\nint main()\\n{\\n    int a = 5;\\n    int b = 20;\\n    int c ;\\n\\n    if( a && b )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 1 - Condition is true" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    if( a || b )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 2 - Condition is true" << endl ;\\n    }\\n\\n    a = 0;\\n    b = 10;\\n    if( a && b )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 3 - Condition is true" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    else\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 4 - Condition No is true" << endl ;\\n    }\\n\\n    if( !(a && b) )\\n    {\\n        cout << "Line 5 - Condition is true" << endl ;\\n    }\\n    return 0;\\n}
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When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

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Line 1 - Condition is true\\nLine 2 - Condition is true\\nLine 4 - Condition No is true\\nLine 5 - Condition is true
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Bitwise operators work on bits and perform bit-by-bit operation. The truth tables for &, |, and ^ are as follows:

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pqp & qp | qp ^ q
00000
01011
11110
10011
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Assume if A = 60 and B = 13, now in binary format, they will be as follows:

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A = 0011 1100

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B = 0000 1101

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-----------------

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A&B = 0000 1100

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A|B = 0011 1101

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A^B = 0011 0001

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~A = 1100 0011

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The following table lists the bitwise operators supported by C++. Assume variable A holds 60 and variable B holds 13, then:

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OperatorDescriptionExample
&Binary AND Operator copies a bit to the result if it exists in both operands.(A & B) will give 12, which is 0000 1100
|Binary OR Operator copies a bit if it exists in either operand.(A | B) will give 61, which is 0011 1101
^Binary XOR Operator copies the bit if it is set in one operand but not both.(A ^ B) will give 49, which is 0011 0001
~Binary Ones Complement Operator is unary and has the effect of 'flipping' bits.(~A ) will give -61, which is 1100 0011 in 2's complement form due to a signed binary number.
<<Binary Left Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved left by the number of bits specified by the right operand.A << 2 will give 240, which is 1111 0000
>>Binary Right Shift Operator. The left operands value is moved right by the number of bits specified by the right operand.A >> 2 will give 15, which is 0000 1111
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Example

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Look at the following example to understand the available bitwise operators in C++.

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Copy and paste the following C++ program into test.cpp file, compile and run the program.

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Example

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#include<iostream>\\nusing namespace std;\\n\\nint main()\\n{\\n    unsigned int a = 60;\\n    unsigned int b = 13;\\n    int c = 0;\\n\\n    c = a & b;\\n    cout << "Line 1 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c = a | b;\\n    cout << "Line 2 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c = a ^ b;\\n    cout << "Line 3 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c = ~a;\\n    cout << "Line 4 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c = a << 2;\\n    cout << "Line 5 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c = a >> 2;\\n    cout << "Line 6 - c the value is " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    return 0;\\n}
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When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

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Line 1 - c the value is 12\\nLine 2 - c the value is 61\\nLine 3 - c the value is 49\\nLine 4 - c the value is -61\\nLine 5 - c the value is 240\\nLine 6 - c the value is 15
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The following table lists the assignment operators supported by C++:

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OperatorDescriptionExample
=Simple assignment operator, Assigns values from right side operands to left side operandC = A + B will assign value of A + B into C
+=Add AND assignment operator, It adds right operand to the left operand and assign the result to left operandC += A is equivalent to C = C + A
-=Subtract AND assignment operator, It subtracts right operand from the left operand and assign the result to left operandC -= A is equivalent to C = C - A
*=Multiply AND assignment operator, It multiplies right operand with the left operand and assign the result to left operandC *= A is equivalent to C = C * A
/=Divide AND assignment operator, It divides left operand with the right operand and assign the result to left operandC /= A is equivalent to C = C / A
%=Modulus AND assignment operator, It takes modulus using two operands and assign the result to left operandC %= A is equivalent to C = C % A
<<=Left shift AND assignment operatorC <<= 2 is same as C = C << 2
>>=Right shift AND assignment operatorC >>= 2 is same as C = C >> 2
&=Bitwise AND assignment operatorC &= 2 is same as C = C & 2
^=Bitwise exclusive OR and assignment operatorC ^= 2 is same as C = C ^ 2
|=Bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operatorC |= 2 is same as C = C | 2
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Example

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Look at the following example to understand the available assignment operators in C++.

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Copy and paste the following C++ program into test.cpp file, compile and run the program.

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Example

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#include<iostream>\\nusing namespace std;\\n\\nint main()\\n{\\n    int a = 21;\\n    int c ;\\n\\n    c = a;\\n    cout << "Line 1 - = Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c += a;\\n    cout << "Line 2 - += Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c -= a;\\n    cout << "Line 3 - -= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c *= a;\\n    cout << "Line 4 - *= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c /= a;\\n    cout << "Line 5 - /= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c = 200;\\n    c %= a;\\n    cout << "Line 6 - %= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c <<= 2;\\n    cout << "Line 7 - <<= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c >>= 2;\\n    cout << "Line 8 - >>= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c &= 2;\\n    cout << "Line 9 - &= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c ^= 2;\\n    cout << "Line 10 - ^= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    c |= 2;\\n    cout << "Line 11 - |= Operator example, value of c = : " << c << endl ;\\n\\n    return 0;\\n}
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When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

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Line 1 - = Operator example, value of c = 21\\nLine 2 - += Operator example, value of c = 42\\nLine 3 - -= Operator example, value of c = 21\\nLine 4 - *= Operator example, value of c = 441\\nLine 5 - /= Operator example, value of c = 21\\nLine 6 - %= Operator example, value of c = 11\\nLine 7 - <<= Operator example, value of c = 44\\nLine 8 - >>= Operator example, value of c = 11\\nLine 9 - &= Operator example, value of c = 2\\nLine 10 - ^= Operator example, value of c = 0\\nLine 11 - |= Operator example, value of c = 2
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The following table lists some other important operators supported by C++.

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OperatorDescription
sizeofsizeof operator returns the size of a variable. For example, sizeof(a) will return 4 where a is an integer.
Condition ? X : YConditional Operator. If Condition is true ? then value X : otherwise value Y.
,Comma operator causes a sequence of operations to be performed. The value of the entire comma expression is the value of the last expression in the comma-separated list.
. (dot) and -> (arrow)Member operators are used to reference individual members of classes, structures and unions.
CastCasting operators convert one data type to another. For example, int(2.2000) would return 2.
&Pointer operator & returns the address of a variable. For example &a; will give actual address of the variable.
*Pointer operator * is a pointer to a variable. For example, *var; will pointer to variable var.
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Operator precedence determines the grouping of terms in an expression. This affects how an expression is evaluated. Certain operators have higher precedence than others; for example, the multiplication operator has higher precedence than the addition operator.

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For example x = 7 + 3 * 2; here, x is assigned 13, not 20 because operator * has higher precedence than + so it first gets multiplied with 3*2 and then adds into 7.

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The following table lists the operators in order of precedence from highest to lowest. Operators with higher precedence appear in the table above those with lower precedence. In an expression, higher precedence operators will be evaluated first.

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CategoryOperatorAssociativity
Postfix() [] -> . ++ - -Left to right
Unary+ - ! ~ ++ - - (type)* & sizeofRight to left
Multiplicative* / %Left to right
Additive+ -Left to right
Shift<< >>Left to right
Relational< <= > >=Left to right
Equality== !=Left to right
Bitwise AND&Left to right
Bitwise XOR^Left to right
Bitwise OR|Left to right
Logical AND&&Left to right
Logical OR||Left to right
Conditional?:Right to left
Assignment= += -= *= /= %= >>= <<= &= ^= |=Right to left
Comma,Left to right
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Example

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Look at the following example to understand the operator precedence in C++.

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Copy and paste the following C++ program into test.cpp file, compile and run the program.

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Compare the difference between having parentheses and not having parentheses. This will produce different results. Because (), /, *, and + have different precedence, the higher precedence operator will be evaluated first.

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Example

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#include<iostream>\\nusing namespace std;\\n\\nint main()\\n{\\n    int a = 20;\\n    int b = 10;\\n    int c = 15;\\n    int d = 5;\\n    int e;\\n\\n    e = (a + b) * c / d;\\n    cout << "(a + b) * c / d the value is " << e << endl ;\\n\\n    e = ((a + b) * c) / d;\\n    cout << "((a + b) * c) / d the value is " << e << endl ;\\n\\n    e = (a + b) * (c / d);\\n    cout << "(a + b) * (c / d) the value is " << e << endl ;\\n\\n    e = a + (b * c) / d;\\n    cout << "a + (b * c) / d the value is " << e << endl ;\\n\\n    return 0;\\n}
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When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

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(a + b) * c / d the value is 90\\n((a + b) * c) / d the value is 90\\n(a + b) * (c / d) the value is 90\\na + (b * c) / d the value is 50
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