Bitwise operators in C are used to manipulate individual bits of data within integer types. They perform operations at the bit level, allowing you to set, clear, toggle, or check specific bits within variables.
| Operator | Description |
|---|---|
& |
Bitwise AND |
| |
Bitwise OR |
^ |
Bitwise XOR (Exclusive OR) |
~ |
Bitwise NOT (Complement) |
<< |
Left shift |
>> |
Right shift |
Here's an example of using bitwise operators in C:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
unsigned int a = 5; // Binary: 0101
unsigned int b = 3; // Binary: 0011
unsigned int bitwise_and = a & b;
unsigned int bitwise_or = a | b;
unsigned int bitwise_xor = a ^ b;
unsigned int bitwise_not = ~a;
unsigned int left_shift = a << 1; // Shift left by 1 bit
unsigned int right_shift = a >> 1; // Shift right by 1 bit
printf("Bitwise AND: %u\n", bitwise_and);
printf("Bitwise OR: %u\n", bitwise_or);
printf("Bitwise XOR: %u\n", bitwise_xor);
printf("Bitwise NOT: %d\n", bitwise_not);
printf("Left Shift: %u\n", left_shift);
printf("Right Shift: %u\n", right_shift);
return 0;
}
Bitwise AND: 1 Bitwise OR: 7 Bitwise XOR: 6 Bitwise NOT: -6 Left Shift: 10 Right Shift: 2
This example demonstrates various bitwise operations on two unsigned integers (a and b) and displays the results.