Lesson 3.8. Assignment operators

In mathematics, the equal (=) sign is a symbol that represents equality between two parts. In computer science, the equal operator has a different meaning: assignment. That is to say that the right part of the operator will be assigned to the left part which is necessarily a variable.

x = a + b;

In the example above, the result of the calculation a + b will be assigned to the variable x. To clarify this concept of assignment, let's study the a = a + 1 from the mathematical and computer science point of view:

In the case of a mathematical equation, this is a relationship that can be simplified:

$$ \begin{align} a &= a+1 \\ \cancel{a} &= \cancel{a}+1 \\ 0 &= 1 \end{align} $$

This relationship is always false since 0 ≠ 1.

In C, the statement a = a + 1; means that the new value of the variable a will be equal to the old value plus one. We would represent this relation in the following mathematical form:

$$ a_{n+1} = a_n + 1 $$

Combined operators

In C, we frequently use instructions of the type i = i + 2; where the variable which is assigned the final value is also used in the calculation. There is a short notation i += 2 which is equivalent to i = i + 2;.

We introduce here a new assignment operator += which sums the two operands before assigning the result to the left operand. Here is an example:

int x = 3;
// Here the value of x is 3
x += 7;
// Now x is 10 (3+7)

These combined operators allow to simplify operations such as adding a value to a variable and storing the result. Here is the list of assignment operators with their equivalent instruction :

Operator Example Same as
+= a += b; a = a + b;
-= a -= b; a = a - b;
*= a *= b; a = a * b;
/= a /= b; a = a / b;
%= a %= b; a = a % b;
&= a &= b; a = a & b;
|= a |= b; a = a | b;
^= a ^= b; a = a ^ b;
<<= a <<= b; a = a << b;
>>= a >>= b; a = a >> b;

Example

Consider the following example:

int a = 18;
// Division combined operator
a /= 3;
printf ("a = %d\n", a );

Exercise

In the following code, modify each operation in order to use combined operators:

int x1=4, x2=2, x3=6;

// USE COMBINED OPERATORS (+=, -=, *= ...)
x1 = 2 + x1;
x1 = x1 * x2;
x2 = x2 % (1+x1);
x3 = x3 / x2;

// Display the results
printf ("x1= %d\n", x1);
printf ("x2= %d\n", x2);
printf ("x3= %d\n", x3);

The result must obviously be the same:

x1 = 12
x2 = 2
x3 = 3

Quiz

What does the following program display?

int x=3;
x += 2;
printf ("%d", x );
Check Bravo! The equivalent instruction is x = x +2;. Try again...

What does the following program display?

float x=10.0;
x /= 3.0;
printf ("%f", x );
Check Bravo! The equivalent instruction is x = x / 3.0; Try again...

What is the equivalent instruction with a combined operator?

x = 12 % x;
Check Bravo! The destination variable must be to the left of the operator %, otherwise it is not possible (like here). Try again...

What is the equivalent instruction with a combined operator?

x = x % 12;
Check Bravo! here, it is possible because the destination variable x is to the left of the operator %. Try again...

See also


Last update : 11/21/2022