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C# - Operators



Operators are used to perform operation on a single operand or two operands. Operators in C# can be categorized as follows:

  • Arithmetic operators
  • Assignment operators
  • Comparison operators
  • Increment/Decrement operators
  • Logical operators
  • Bitwise operators
  • Miscellaneous operators

C# Arithmetic operators

Arithmetic operators are used to perform arithmetic operations on two operands.

OperatorNameDescription
+AdditionAdd two values
-SubtractionSubtract one value from another
*MultiplicationMultiply two values
/DivisionDivide one value by another
%ModuloReturns remainder of division operation

Example

C# Assignment operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values of right hand side expression to left hand side operand.

Operator Expression Equivalent toExample
=a = 5a = 5Example
+=a += ba = a + b
-=a -= ba = a - b
*=a *= ba = a * b
/=a /= ba = a / b
%=a %= ba = a % b
&=a &= ba = a & bMore Info
|=a |= ba = a | bMore Info
^=a ^= ba = a ^ bMore Info
>>=a >>= ba = a >> bMore Info
<<=a <<= ba = a << bMore Info

C# Comparison operators

Comparison operators are used to compare values of two operands. It returns true when values matches and returns false when values does not match.

Operator Description
==Equal
!= Not equal
>Greater than
<Less than
>=Greater than or equal to
<=Less than or equal to

Example

C# Increment/Decrement operators

Increment and decrement operators are used to increase and decrease the value of variable.

OperatorNameDescriptionExample
++xPre-incrementIncreases the value of x by 1, then returns x.Example
x++Post-incrementReturns x, then increases the value of x by 1.
--xPre-decrementDecreases the value of x by 1, then returns x.Example
x--Post-decrementReturns x, then decreases the value of x by 1.

C# Logical operators

Logical operators are used to combine two or more conditions.

Operator Name Description
&&ANDReturns true when all conditions are true
||ORReturns true when any of the conditions is true
!NOTReturns opposite boolean result

More Info

C# Bitwise operators

Bitwise operators are used to perform bitwise operations on two operands.

OperatorNameDescriptionMore Info
& ANDReturns 1 if both bits at the same position in both operands are 1, else returns 0More Info
|ORReturns 1 if one of two bits at the same position in both operands is 1, else returns 0More Info
^XORReturns 1 if only one of two bits at the same position in both operands is 1, else returns 0More Info
~ NOTReverse all the bitsMore Info
>>Right shiftThe left operand is moved right by the number of bits present in the right operandMore Info
<<Left shiftThe left operand value is moved left by the number of bits present in the right operandMore Info

C# Miscellaneous operators

The table below describes other operators supported by C#:

OperatorDescription
sizeof()Returns size of a data type, constants or variable.
ternary operator (?:)Returns one of the two values based on value of boolean expression.
Address-of operator (&)Returns address of a variable.
Dereference operator (*)Pointer to a variable.
Null coalescing operator (??)Returns right-hand side operand when left-hand side operand is null, otherwise returns left-hand side operand.

C# Operators Precedence

Operator precedence (order of operations) is a collection of rules that reflect conventions about which procedures to perform first in order to evaluate a given expression.

For example, multiplication has higher precedence than addition. Thus, the expression 1 + 2 × 3 is interpreted to have the value 1 + (2 × 3) = 7, and not (1 + 2) × 3 = 9. When exponent is used in the expression, it has precedence over both addition and multiplication. Thus 3 + 52 = 28 and 3 × 52 = 75.

The following table lists the precedence and associativity of C# operators. Operators are listed top to bottom, in descending precedence. Operators with higher precedence are evaluated before operators with relatively lower precedence. When operators have the same precedence, associativity of the operators determines the order in which the operations are performed.

PrecedenceOperatorDescription
18x++  x--Postfix increment, Postfix decrement
x.yMember access expression
f(x)Invocation expression
a[i]Indexer operator
x?.yMember access
x?[y]Element access
!! (null-forgiving) operator
newnew operator
typeoftypeof operator
checked  uncheckedchecked and unchecked keyword
defaultdefault value expressions
nameofnameof expression
delegatedelegate operator
sizeofsizeof operator
stackallocstackalloc expression
x->yPointer member access operator
17++x  --xPrefix increment, Prefix decrement
+x  -xUnary plus, Unary minus
!Logical NOT
~Bitwise NOT
^xIndex from end operator
(T)xCast expression
awaitawait operator
*xIndirection (dereference) operator
&xAddress-of operator
true  falseBoolean true and false operator
16..Range operator
15switchswitch expression
14withwith expression
13*  /  %Multiplication, Division, Remainder
12+  -Addition, Subtraction
11<<  >>Bitwise left shift and right shift
10<  <=  >  >=Less than, Less than or equal, Greater than, and Greater than or equal
is  asType testing operators
9==  !=Equality and Inequality
8&Boolean logical AND or bitwise logical AND
7^Boolean logical XOR or bitwise logical XOR
6|Boolean logical OR or bitwise logical OR
5&&Logical AND
4||Logical OR
3??Null-coalescing operator
2x?a:bConditional (ternary) operator
1=Direct assignment
+=  -=  *=  /=  %=Compound assignment by sum, difference, product, quotient and remainder
<<=  >>=Compound assignment by Bitwise left shift and right shift
&=  ^=  |=Compound assignment by Bitwise AND, XOR and OR
??=Compound assignment by Null-coalescing operator
=>lambda operator

Operator associativity

C# has following operator associativity:

  • Left-associative operators: Except for the assignment operators and the null-coalescing operators, all binary operators are left-associative.
  • Right-associative operators: The assignment operators, the null-coalescing operators, and the conditional operator ?: are right-associative.

Parentheses can be used to change the order of evaluation imposed by operator associativity.