Bitwise Operators
Bitwise operators work on the tiny on-off switches inside a number, like flipping single light switches in a row. They are used for compact settings and low-level tricks.
In this page:
Syntax
a & b
a | b
a ^ b
~a
a << n
a >> nBitwise Operators
Bitwise operators (&, |, ^, ~, <<, >>) operate directly on the binary representation of integers. & and | perform AND/OR on each bit, ^ is XOR, and <</>> shift bits left or right.
They're common in flags, masks, and low-level performance code.
Note:
x << 1 doubles an integer, and x >> 1 halves it (for non-negative numbers).Example: Bitwise Operators
object Main extends App {
val a = 6 // 110
val b = 3 // 011
println(a & b) // 010 = 2
println(a | b) // 111 = 7
println(a ^ b) // 101 = 5
println(a << 1) // 1100 = 12
println(a >> 1) // 011 = 3
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Related Topics
{# common_mistakes/chapter_summary/browser_support: on Hindi pages the
view already swaps in the hi_ translation fields (or blanks these
out if untranslated), so this renders correctly for both languages
without a lang_code check here. #}
Common Mistakes
- Confusing
&with&&, when&works on the bits of integers and&&on Booleans. - Using
>>on a negative number and expecting zeros to fill in, when>>keeps the sign and you need>>>. - Expecting
~5to be-5, when it flips all bits and gives-6.
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