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Java Assignment operators
An Assignment Operator is an operator used to assign a new value to a variable. The assigning operator in Java is marked with the symbol “=”. It is employed for assigning a value to a variable. The basic purpose of the assignment operator is to store the result of an expression or a constant value into a variable, allowing you to use and manipulate that value later in the program.
variable = expression or value;
Example:
public class AssignmentOperatorExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int x; // Declare a variable 'x' of type int
x = 10; // Assign the value 10 to the variable 'x'
System.out.println("The value of x is: " + x);
}
}
In this example, we declared an integer variable ‘x’, assigned the value 10 to it using the assignment operator (=), and then printed its value to the console.
It’s important to understand that the assignment operator does not check for equality (like the equality operator ==). Instead, it takes the value on the right and assigns it to the variable on the left. For example, x = 10; assigns the value 10 to the variable ‘x’, while x == 10; checks whether the value of ‘x’ is equal to 10.
The assignment operator can also be combined with other operators to perform arithmetic and bitwise assignments, like +=, -=, *=, /=, %=, &=, |=, ^=, <<=, >>=, and >>>=. The combined assignment operators in Java allow you to perform arithmetic and bitwise operations on a variable and assign the result back to the same variable in a more concise manner. They combine the basic assignment operator “=” with other arithmetic or bitwise operators, making the code more compact and readable.
| Operator | Description | Example |
| = | Assigns values from right side operands to left side operand | c = a + b |
| += | It adds right operand to the left operand and assigns the result to left operand | c += a |
| -= | It subtracts right operand from the left operand and assigns the result to left operand | c -= a |
| *= | It multiplies right operand with the left operand and assigns the result to left operand | c *= a |
| /= | It divides left operand with the right operand and assigns the result to left operand | c /= a |
| %= | It takes modulus using two operands and assigns the result to left operand | c %= a |
| ^= | Performs exponential (power) calculation on operators and assign value to the left operand | c ^= a |
Example:
public class AssignmentOperatorsExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int a = 10;
int b = 20;
int c;
// Assignment Operator
c = a;
System.out.println("c = " + c); // Output: c = 10
// Addition Assignment Operator
b += a;
System.out.println("b += a: " + b); // Output: b += a: 30
// Subtraction Assignment Operator
b -= a;
System.out.println("b -= a: " + b); // Output: b -= a: 20
// Multiplication Assignment Operator
b *= a;
System.out.println("b *= a: " + b); // Output: b *= a: 200
// Division Assignment Operator
b /= a;
System.out.println("b /= a: " + b); // Output: b /= a: 20
// Modulus Assignment Operator
b %= a;
System.out.println("b %= a: " + b); // Output: b %= a: 0
// Bitwise AND Assignment Operator
b = 12; // In binary: 1100
b &= 3; // In binary: 0011
System.out.println("b &= 3: " + b); // Output: b &= 3: 0
// Bitwise OR Assignment Operator
b = 9; // In binary: 1001
b |= 6; // In binary: 0110
System.out.println("b |= 6: " + b); // Output: b |= 6: 15
// Bitwise XOR Assignment Operator
b = 10; // In binary: 1010
b ^= 3; // In binary: 0011
System.out.println("b ^= 3: " + b); // Output: b ^= 3: 9
}
}
Output:
c = 10
b += a: 30
b -= a: 20
b *= a: 200
b /= a: 20
b %= a: 0
b &= 3: 0
b |= 6: 15
b ^= 3: 9
In this example, the program demonstrates various assignment operators and their usage:
=: The basic assignment operator, used to assign a value to a variable.
+=: Adds a value to a variable and stores the result in the same variable.
-=: Subtracts a value from a variable and stores the result in the same variable.
*=: Multiplies a variable by a value and stores the result in the same variable.
/=: Divides a variable by a value and stores the result in the same variable.
%=: Calculates the remainder of dividing a variable by a value and stores it in the same variable.
&=: Performs bitwise AND between a variable and a value, storing the result in the same variable.
|=: Performs bitwise OR between a variable and a value, storing the result in the same variable.
^=: Performs bitwise XOR between a variable and a value, storing the result in the same variable.
Each assignment operator offers a convenient way to modify variables in a single line.
