Unary Operators in C

Unary operators in C are operators that act on a single operand. They can be used to perform various operations such as incrementing or decrementing a value, negating a value, or taking the address of a variable.

In this article, we will discuss the different types of unary operators in C and provide examples of how to use them in your code.

Unary operators in c

1. Increment and Decrement Operators

The increment (++) and decrement (–) operators are used to increment or decrement a value by 1. They can be used as a prefix or postfix operator.

The prefix operator (++x) increments the value before it is used in the expression, while the postfix operator (x++) increments the value after it is used in the expression.

Examples:

int x = 5;

x++; // x is now 6

++x; // x is now 7

x–; // x is now 6

–x; // x is now 5

2. Unary Negation Operator

The unary negation operator (-) negates the value of the operand. It is also known as the “minus” operator.

Example:

int x = 5;

int y = –x; // y is now -5

3. Logical NOT Operator

The logical NOT operator (!) is used to reverse the logical state of the operand. It returns true if the operand is false, and false if the operand is true.

Example:

bool x = true;

bool y = !x; // y is now false

4. Bitwise NOT Operator

The bitwise NOT operator (~) is used to reverse the bits of the operand. It is also known as the “complement” operator.

Example:

int x = 5;

int y = ~x; // y is now -6

5. Address-of operator

The address-of operator (&) returns the memory address of the operand. It is used to get the memory location of a variable.

Example:

int x = 5;

int* ptr = &x; // ptr now contains the address of x

6. Indirection operator

The indirection operator (*) is used to access the value stored at a memory location. It is also known as the “dereference” operator.

Example:

int x = 5;

int* ptr = &x;

int y = *ptr; // y is now 5

Conclusion

It’s important to note that the order of operations follows the order of precedence and associativity of the operators. Be sure to understand the order of precedence and associativity of the operators and use parenthesis when necessary to ensure the code produces the expected results.

Unary operators in C are operators that act on a single operand. They include increment and decrement operators, unary negation operator, logical NOT operator, bitwise NOT operator, address-of operator, and indirection operator. Understanding how to use unary operators in C can make your code more efficient and easier to read and understand. T

hey are often used in loops and control flow statements to change the value of a variable, negate a value, or access memory locations. It’s important to be familiar with the different types of unary operators and how to use them correctly in your code.

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