Bitwise operators in C programming are tools for bit-level data manipulation, including AND, OR, XOR, NOT, and shift operators. They are fundamental in system programming for tasks like digital signal processing, cryptography, and network protocol design. Understanding the difference between bitwise and logical operators is crucial for avoiding errors and optimizing code performance. Mastery of these operators requires knowledge of integer size, sign extension, and system endianness.
Show More
The bitwise AND operator sets each bit in the result to 1 if both corresponding bits in the operands are 1
The bitwise OR operator sets a bit to 1 if at least one of the corresponding bits is 1
The bitwise XOR operator sets a bit to 1 only if the corresponding bits in the operands are different (one is 1, the other is 0)
The left shift operator shifts bits to the left, filling the vacated least significant bits with zeros
The right shift operator shifts bits to the right, filling the vacated most significant bits with zeros or the sign bit depending on the implementation
Logical operators evaluate expressions to produce a boolean result and are typically used in control structures
Bitwise operators perform bit-level arithmetic on integer operands, producing an integer result
The bitwise NOT operator inverts the bits of its operand, turning 1s into 0s and vice versa
00
Bitwise OR Operator Function
Sets bit to 1 if any corresponding bit is 1.
01
Bitwise XOR Operator Usage
Sets bit to 1 only if bits differ; one is 1, other is 0.
02
Bitwise Shift Operators Purpose
Left shift (<<) multiplies by 2, right shift (>>) divides by 2.
