Bitwise Operators In C [ Full Information With Examples ]

Bitwise Operators In C -: As you may know, the CPU of a computer consists of an arithmetic logical unit that performs mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division at the bit level. If we want to do the same thing in C language, then we use Bitwise Operators. Bitwise Operators perform mathematical operations at bit level.

Bitwise Operators are used to perform operations in the bit level between operands. Bitwise Operators first convert the operands to Bit and then perform the operation.

We have different types of Bitwise Operators in C Language. The list of which is the following.

List of Bitwise Operators in C Language

Let us now see a TRUTH TABLE of Bitwise operators.

Let’s now know all Bitwise Operators one by one.

Bitwise AND operator

It is one of the most commonly used logical bitwise operators. It is represented by the (&) symbol. There are two integer expressions on each side of the (&) operator.

The Bitwise AND operator returns 1 in the result if both bits have a value of 1 or if both bits does not have a value of 1, then it always returns 0 in the result.

Suppose we have the following two values ​​in binary form

12 = 00001100 (In Binary)
25 = 00011001 (In Binary)

Bit Operation of 12 and 25
 
  00001100
& 00011001
  ________
  00001000 = 8 (In decimal)

As we can see from the above result, the bits of both operands are compared one by one and if the value of both bits is 1, the output is 0 if not 1.

Let us understand Bitwise AND (&) Operator better through a program.

Example Program -: Bitwise AND (&)

#include <stdio.h>
int main ()
{
    int a = 12, b = 25;
    printf ("Output = %d", a&b);
    return 0;
}

In the above program, we have created two variables named ‘a’ and ‘b’, and stored 12 and 25 in these ‘a’ and ‘b’ variables. The binary values ​​of ‘a’ and ‘b’ are 00001100 and 00011001. When we apply the AND 

operator between these two variables,then its result is something like this:

a AND b = 00001100 & 00011001 = 00001000 Its value in decimal is 8.

Output -:

Output = 8

Bitwise OR operator

The Bitwise OR operator is represented by the (|) symbol. The Bitwise OR operator returns 1 in the result if either of their corresponding operands is 1 in the operand and if it does not, then it returns 0 in the result.

For example,

12 = 00001100 (In Binary)
25 = 00011001 (In Binary)

Bitwise OR Operation of 12 and 25
  00001100
| 00011001
  ________
  00011101 = 29 (In decimal)

As we can see from the result above that the bits of both operands are compared one by one and if the value of a single bit is 1,then the output is 1 otherwise 0.

Let us try to create a program to understand Bitwise AND (&) Operator better.

#include <stdio.h>
int main ()
{
    int a = 12, b = 25;
    printf ("Result Is: %d", a|b);
    return 0;
}

Output -:

Result Is: 29

Bitwise XOR (exclusive OR) operator

The Bitwise XOR operator is represented by the (^) symbol. The Bitwise XOR operator returns 1 in the result if its respective operands are different and if it does not, then it returns 0 in the result.

We can also say that if one of the corresponding bits is 1 and the other bit is 0, then Bitwise XOR Operator will always return only 1 in the result.

Let us understand this through an example.

12 = 00001100 (In Binary)
25 = 00011001 (In Binary)

Bitwise XOR Operation of 12 and 25

  00001100
^ 00011001
  ________
  00010101 = 21 (In decimal)

Example Program -: Bitwise XOR (^)

#include <stdio.h>
int main ()
{
    int a = 12, b = 25;
    printf ("Result Is: %d", a^b);
    return 0;
}

Output -:

Result Is: 21

Bitwise complement operator ~

The bitwise complement operator is also known as the complement operator. It is represented by the tilde (~) symbol. It only takes one operand or variable to perform an operation and performs a complement operation on one operand.

When we apply complement operation, on any bit, it becomes 0, 1 and becomes 1, 0

For example,

Suppose we have a variable named 'a' whose value is
a = 8;
This result is obtained by converting the value 8 in the variable a to binary.
a = 1000
When we apply bitwise complement operator in the operand, the output will be:

Result = 0111

As we can see from the above result that if bit is 1, then it is 0 and if bit is 0, it changes it to 1.

Let’s now understand the bitwise complement operator through a program.

#include <stdio.h>
int main ()
{
   int a = 8; // variable declarations
   printf ("The output of the Bitwise complement operator ~a is %d", ~a);
   return 0;
}

Output -:

The output of the Bitwise complement operator ~ a is -9

Bitwise Shift Operators in C Language

There are two types of bitwise shift operators in C language.

1. Left-shift operator
2. Right-shift operator

#1. Left-shift operator

The left-shift operator shifts the number of bits to the left. The left-shift operator is represented by << symbol.

Syntax of the left-shift operator

Operand<<n

Here the operand can be any integer variable and n is the number of bits to shift.

In the case of the left-shift operator, the bits are left-side shifts. In the list-shift operator, the ‘n’ bits of the left side will be removed, and the ‘n’ bits of the right side will be filled with 0.

For example,

Suppose we have this statement

int a = 5;

By representing the value of a in binary,

a = 00000101

If we want to left-shift the above representation by 2, then the statement would be:

a<<2;

Result: 00000101<<2 = 00010100

Let us understand this through a program.

#include <stdio.h>
int main ()
{
    int a = 5; // variable initialization
    printf ("The value of a<<2 is: %d", a<<2);
    return 0;
}

After performing left shift operation, the value will be 20.

Output -:

The value of a<<2 is: 20

#2. Right-shift operator

The right-shift operator shifts the number of bits to the right. The right-shift operator is represented by the >> symbol.

Syntax of the Right-shift operator

Operand>>n

Here the operand can be any integer variable on which right-shift operation will be applied and n is the number of shifting bits.

In the case of the right-shift operator, the bits are right-side shift, in the right-shift operator the ‘n’ bits of the right side will be removed, and the ‘n’ bits of the left side will be filled with 0.

For example,

Suppose we have this statement

int a = 7;

By representing the value of a in binary,

a = 00000111

If we want to right-shift the above representation by 2, then the statement would be:

a>>2;

Result: 00000101>>2 = 0000 0001

Let us understand this through a program.

#include <stdio.h>
int main ()
{
    int a = 7; // variable initialization
    printf ("The value of a>>2 is: %d", a>>2);
    return 0;
}

The value will be 1 after performing the right-shift operation.

Output -:

The value of a>>2 is : 1

Read More -:

• What is Operators In C
• Relational Operators In C
• Logical Operators In C
• Arithmetic Operators In C
• Assignment Operators In C
• Conditional Operator in C
• Download C Language Notes Pdf
• C Language Tutorial For Beginners
• C Programming Examples With Output
• 250+ C Programs for Practice PDF Free Download

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