The Bitwise operators in C are some of the Operators used to perform bit operations. All the decimal values will convert into binary values (sequence of bits, i.e., 0100, 1100, 1000, 1001, etc.). Next, the C bitwise operators will work on these bits, such as shifting them from left to right or converting bit values from 0 to 1.
The below table shows the different Bitwise operators in C Programming with example and their meanings. For example, Consider x = 6 and y = 8 and their values in binary form are: x = 0110 and y = 1000
| C Bitwise Operators | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| & | Bitwise AND | X & Y = 0000 |
| | | Bitwise OR | X | Y = 1110 |
| ^ | Bitwise exclusive OR | X ^ Y = 1110 |
| ~ | complement | ~X = 00001001 (Not operator will convert all 0 into 1.) |
| << | Shift left | X << 1 = 00001100 (Bits will move 1 step left. If we use 2 or 3, then they shift accordingly) |
| >> | Shift right | Y >> 1 = 00000100 |
Let us see the Truth Table behind Bitwise Operators in C Programming Language
| 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 |
Bitwise operators in C Programming Example
Let us see one example to better understand bitwise operators in C programming language. In this Program, We are using two variables, a and b, and their values are 9 and 65. Next, we will use these two variables to show you various operations.
We declared 2 integers in this program, a and b, and assigned the values 9 and 65. The binary form of 9 = 0001001 and 65 = 1000001. The below printf statements will perform the bitwise operations on a and b then they will display the Program output
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
int a = 9, b = 65;
printf(" AND a&b = %d \n", a & b);
printf(" OR a|b = %d \n", a | b);
printf(" EXCLUSIVE OR a^b = %d \n", a ^ b);
printf(" NOT ~a = %d \n", a = ~a);
printf(" LEFT SHIFT a<<1 = %d \n", a << 1);
printf(" RIGHT SHIFT b>>1 = %d \n", b >> 1);
return 0;
}
Let’s see the calculations behind these Operators in this Programming.
AND Operation = a & b
0001001 & 1000001 = 0000001 = 1
OR Operation = a || b
0001001 || 1000001 = 1001001 = 73
Next, Exclusive OR Operation = a ^ b
0001001 ^ 1000001 = 1001000 = 72
Left Shift Operation = b >> 1
1000001 >> 1 = 0100000 = 32