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C# Operators

An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical manipulations. C# is equipped with a rich set of built-in operators, categorized as follows:

Arithmetic Operators
Relational Operators
Logical Operators
Bitwise Operators
Assignment Operators
Miscellaneous Operators

This tutorial will cover each of the arithmetic operators, relational operators, logical operators, bitwise operators, assignment operators, and other operators in detail.

Arithmetic Operators

The table below shows all the arithmetic operators supported by C#. Assuming variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

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

Example

Consider the following example to understand all the arithmetic operators available in C#:

using System;

namespace OperatorsAppl
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int a = 21;
            int b = 10;
            int c;

            c = a + b;
            Console.WriteLine("Line 1 - Value of c is {0}", c);
            c = a - b;
            Console.WriteLine("Line 2 - Value of c is {0}", c);
            c = a * b;
            Console.WriteLine("Line 3 - Value of c is {0}", c);
            c = a / b;
            Console.WriteLine("Line 4 - Value of c is {0}", c);
            c = a % b;
            Console.WriteLine("Line 5 - Value of c is {0}", c);

            // ++a increments first and then assigns
            c = ++a;
            Console.WriteLine("Line 6 - Value of c is {0}", c);

            // a is now 22
            // --a decrements first and then assigns
            c = --a;
            Console.WriteLine("Line 7 - Value of c is {0}", c);
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - Value of c is 31
Line 2 - Value of c is 11
Line 3 - Value of c is 210
Line 4 - Value of c is 2
Line 5 - Value of c is 1
Line 6 - Value of c is 22
Line 7 - Value of c is 21

c = a++: Assigns a to c first, then increments a.
c = ++a: Increments a first, then assigns a to c.
c = a--: Assigns a to c first, then decrements a.
c = --a: Decrements a first, then assigns a to c.

Example

using System;

namespace OperatorsAppl
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int a = 1;
            int b;

            // a++ assigns first and then increments
            b = a++;
            Console.WriteLine("a = {0}", a);
            Console.WriteLine("b = {0}", b);
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

This is a Chinese to English translation, please provide the English translation for this text. Do not provide any explanations or text apart from the translation. Chinese: // ++a increments before assignment a = 1; // reinitialize a b = ++a; Console.WriteLine("a = {0}", a); Console.WriteLine("b = {0}", b); Console.ReadLine();

                // a-- assigns before decrement
                a = 1;  // reinitialize a
                b= a--;
                Console.WriteLine("a = {0}", a);
                Console.WriteLine("b = {0}", b);
                Console.ReadLine();

                // --a decrements before assignment
                a = 1;  // reinitialize a
                b= --a;
                Console.WriteLine("a = {0}", a);
                Console.WriteLine("b = {0}", b);
                Console.ReadLine();
            }
        }
    }

Executing the above program, the output is:

a = 2
b = 2
a = 0
b = 1
a = 0
b = 0

Relational Operators

The table below shows all the relational operators supported by C#. Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

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

Example

See the following example to understand all the relational operators available in C#:

Example

using System;

class Program
{
  static void Main(string[] args)
  {
      int a = 21;
      int b = 10;

      if (a == b)
      {
          Console.WriteLine("Line 1 - a is equal to b");
      }
      else
      {
          Console.WriteLine("Line 1 - a is not equal to b");
      }
      if (a < b)
      {
          Console.WriteLine("Line 2 - a is less than b");
      }
      else
      {
          Console.WriteLine("Line 2 - a is not less than b");
      }
      if (a > b)
      {
          Console.WriteLine("Line 3 - a is greater than b");
      }
      else
      {
          Console.WriteLine("Line 3 - a is not greater than b");
      }
      /* Change the values of a and b */
      a = 5;
      b = 20;
      if (a <= b)
      {
         Console.WriteLine("Line 4 - a is either less than or equal to b");
      }
      if (b >= a)
      {
         Console.WriteLine("Line 5 - b is either greater than or equal to a");
      }
  }
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - a is not equal to b
Line 2 - a is not less than b
Line 3 - a is greater than b
Line 4 - a is either less than or equal to b
Line 5 - b is either greater than or equal to a

Logical Operators

The table below shows all the logical operators supported by C#. Assume variable A holds the boolean value true and variable B holds the boolean value false, then:

Operator	Description	Example
&&	Called Logical AND operator. If both operands are non-zero, then the condition becomes true.	(A && B) is false.
\|\|	Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands is non-zero, then the 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 the Logical NOT operator will make it false.	!(A && B) is true.

Example

Please see the following example to understand all the logical operators available in C#:

Example

using System;

namespace OperatorsAppl
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            bool a = true;
            bool b = true;

            if (a && b)
            {
               Console.WriteLine("Line 1 - Condition is true");
            }
            if (a || b)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Line 2 - Condition is true");
            }
            /* Change the values of a and b */
            a = false;
            b = true;
            if (a && b)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Line 3 - Condition is true");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Line 3 - Condition is not true");
            }
            if (!(a && b))
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Line 4 - Condition is true");
            }
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - Condition is true
Line 2 - Condition is true
Line 3 - Condition is not true
Line 4 - Condition is true

Bitwise Operators

Bitwise operators work on bits and perform bit-by-bit operations. The truth tables for &, |, and ^ are as follows:

p	q	p & q	p \| q	p ^ q
0	0	0	0	0
0	1	0	1	1
1	1	1	1	0
1	0	0	1	1

Assume if A = 60, and B = 13; now in binary format they will be as follows:

A = 0011 1100

B = 0000 1101

A&B = 0000 1100

A\|B = 0011 1101

A^B = 0011 0001

~A = 1100 0011

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

Operator	Description	Example
&	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 value of the left operand is shifted right by the number of bits specified by the right operand. A >> 2 will give 15, which is 0000 1111.

Example

Look at the following example to understand all the bitwise operators available in C#:

Example

using System;
namespace OperatorsAppl
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int a = 60;            /* 60 = 0011 1100 */  
            int b = 13;            /* 13 = 0000 1101 */
            int c = 0;           

             c = a & b;           /* 12 = 0000 1100 */ 
             Console.WriteLine("Line 1 - Value of c is {0}", c );

             c = a | b;           /* 61 = 0011 1101 */
             Console.WriteLine("Line 2 - Value of c is {0}", c);

             c = a ^ b;           /* 49 = 0011 0001 */
             Console.WriteLine("Line 3 - Value of c is {0}", c);

             c = ~a;               /*-61 = 1100 0011 */
             Console.WriteLine("Line 4 - Value of c is {0}", c);

             c = a << 2;     /* 240 = 1111 0000 */
             Console.WriteLine("Line 5 - Value of c is {0}", c);

             c = a >> 2;     /* 15 = 0000 1111 */
             Console.WriteLine("Line 6 - Value of c is {0}", c);
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - Value of c is 12
Line 2 - Value of c is 61
Line 3 - Value of c is 49
Line 4 - Value of c is -61
Line 5 - Value of c is 240
Line 6 - Value of c is 15

Assignment Operators

The following table lists the assignment operators supported by C#:

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

Example

Look at the following example to understand all the assignment operators available in C#:

Example

using System;

namespace OperatorsAppl
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {

int a = 21;
int c;

c = a;
Console.WriteLine("Line 1 - =  c's value = {0}", c);

c += a;
Console.WriteLine("Line 2 - += c's value = {0}", c);

c -= a;
Console.WriteLine("Line 3 - -=  c's value = {0}", c);

c *= a;
Console.WriteLine("Line 4 - *=  c's value = {0}", c);

c /= a;
Console.WriteLine("Line 5 - /=  c's value = {0}", c);

c = 200;
c %= a;
Console.WriteLine("Line 6 - %=  c's value = {0}", c);

c <<= 2;
Console.WriteLine("Line 7 - <<=  c's value = {0}", c);

c >>= 2;
Console.WriteLine("Line 8 - >>=  c's value = {0}", c);

c &= 2;
Console.WriteLine("Line 9 - &=  c's value = {0}", c);

c ^= 2;
Console.WriteLine("Line 10 - ^=  c's value = {0}", c);

c |= 2;
Console.WriteLine("Line 11 - |=  c's value = {0}", c);
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - =  c's value = 21
Line 2 - += c's value = 42
Line 3 - -=  c's value = 21
Line 4 - *=  c's value = 441
Line 5 - /=  c's value = 21
Line 6 - %=  c's value = 11
Line 7 - <<=  c's value = 44
Line 8 - >>=  c's value = 11
Line 9 - &=  c's value = 2
Line 10 - ^=  c's value = 0
Line 11 - |=  c's value = 2

Other Operators

The following table lists some other important operators supported by C#, including sizeof, typeof, and ? :.

Operator	Description	Example
sizeof()	Returns the size of a data type.	sizeof(int), will return 4.
typeof()	Returns the type of a class.	typeof(StreamReader);
&	Returns the address of a variable.	&a; will give the actual address of the variable.
*	Pointer to a variable.	*a; will point to a variable.
? :	Conditional expression	If condition is true ? then X : otherwise Y
is	Determines whether an object is of a certain type.	If( Ford is Car) // Checks if Ford is an object of the Car class.
as	Type conversion without throwing an exception if the conversion fails.	Object obj = new StringReader("Hello"); <br>StringReader r = obj as StringReader;

Example

using System;

namespace OperatorsAppl
{

   class Program
   {
      static void Main(string[] args)
      {

         /* Example of sizeof operator */
         Console.WriteLine("Size of int is {0}", sizeof(int));

Console.WriteLine("The size of short is {0}", sizeof(short));
Console.WriteLine("The size of double is {0}", sizeof(double));

/* Example of ternary operator */
int a, b;
a = 10;
b = (a == 1) ? 20 : 30;
Console.WriteLine("The value of b is {0}", b);

b = (a == 10) ? 20 : 30;
Console.WriteLine("The value of b is {0}", b);
Console.ReadLine();

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

The size of int is 4
The size of short is 2
The size of double is 8
The value of b is 30
The value of b is 20

Operator Precedence in C

The precedence of operators 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 and division operators have higher precedence than the addition and subtraction operators.

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

The following table lists the precedence of operators from highest to lowest. Operators with higher precedence appear at the top of the table, and operators with lower precedence appear at the bottom. In an expression, higher precedence operators are evaluated first.

Category	Operators	Associativity
Postfix	() [] -> . ++ --	Left to right
Unary	+ - ! ~ ++ -- (type)* & sizeof	Right 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

Example

using System;

namespace OperatorsAppl
{

   class Program
   {
      static void Main(string[] args)
      {
         int a = 20;
         int b = 10;
         int c = 15;
         int d = 5;
         int e;
         e = (a + b) * c / d;     // ( 30 * 15 ) / 5
         Console.WriteLine("(a + b) * c / d is {0}", e);

         e = ((a + b) * c) / d;   // (30 * 15 ) / 5
         Console.WriteLine("((a + b) * c) / d is {0}", e);

         e = (a + b) * (c / d);   // (30) * (15/5)
         Console.WriteLine("(a + b) * (c / d) is {0}", e);

         e = a + (b * c) / d;    //  20 + (150/5)
         Console.WriteLine("a + (b * c) / d is {0}", e);
         Console.ReadLine();
      }
   }
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

(a + b) * c / d is 90
((a + b) * c) / d is 90
(a + b) * (c / d) is 90
a + (b * c) / d is 50

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