How do I use bitwise operators in C programs?

How do I use bitwise operators in C programs?

Bitwise operators in C allow you to perform operations on binary representations of integers. They include AND (&), OR (|), XOR (^), NOT (~), left shift (<<), and right shift (>>). Would you like examples of how to use them?

Yes, can you show me an example of using the AND operator?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 12; // 1100 in binary
    int b = 5;  // 0101 in binary
    int result = a & b; // result will be 4 (0100 in binary)
    printf("Result of a & b: %d\n", result);
    return 0;
}

This code performs a bitwise AND operation between 12 and 5.

What about the OR operator?

For the OR operator, here's an example:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 12; // 1100 in binary
    int b = 5;  // 0101 in binary
    int result = a | b; // result will be 13 (1101 in binary)
    printf("Result of a | b: %d\n", result);
    return 0;
}

This code performs a bitwise OR operation between 12 and 5.

Can you explain the left shift operator?

Certainly! The left shift operator (<<) shifts the bits of a number to the left by a specified number of positions. For example:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 3; // 0011 in binary
    int result = a << 2; // result will be 12 (1100 in binary)
    printf("Result of a << 2: %d\n", result);
    return 0;
}

This shifts the bits of 3 two places to the left, effectively multiplying it by 4.