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 bitwise operators in C will work on these bits, such as shifting them left to right or converting bit value from 0 to 1, etc.
The below table shows the different Bitwise operators in C Programming with example and their meaning. For example, Consider x = 6 and y = 8 and their values in binary form are: x = 0110 and y = 1000
| Bitwise Operators in C | Operator 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 Example
Let us see one example for a better understanding of bitwise operators in C Programming. In this Program, We are using two variables a and b, and their values are 9 and 65. Next, we are going to use these two variables to show you various operations.
In this program, We declared 2 integers 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(" Bitwise AND Operator a&b = %d \n", a & b);
printf(" Bitwise OR Operator a|b = %d \n", a | b);
printf(" Bitwise EXCLUSIVE OR Operator a^b = %d \n", a ^ b);
printf(" Bitwise NOT Operator ~a = %d \n", a = ~a);
printf(" LEFT SHIFT Operator a<<1 = %d \n", a << 1);
printf(" RIGHT SHIFT Operator b>>1 = %d \n", b >> 1);
return 0;
}
Lets see the calculations behind this Operators in C Programming.
C Bitwise AND Operation = a & b
0001001 & 1000001 = 0000001 = 1
C Bitwise 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
