Java Operators

About

Operators in Java are special symbols or keywords that perform operations on variables and values. They are the building blocks of expressions and help in performing tasks such as arithmetic, comparison, assignment, logical evaluation, and more.

Operators are used in almost every Java program — from simple mathematical calculations to complex logical evaluations. Understanding them is essential for writing correct and efficient code.

Key Points

• Java automatically handles operator precedence, but we can use parentheses to control evaluation order.

• == compares values for primitives, and object references for objects. Use .equals() for object content comparison.

• Avoid using bitwise operators unless we understand binary operations.

• Ternary operators can reduce code but should be used for simple conditions only.

Types of Operators in Java

Java provides several categories of operators:

1. Arithmetic Operators

Used to perform basic mathematical operations.

Operator	Description	Example	Result
+	Addition	a + b	Sum of a and b
-	Subtraction	a - b	Difference
*	Multiplication	a * b	Product
/	Division	a / b	Quotient
%	Modulo (Remainder)	a % b	Remainder

Example:

int a = 10, b = 3;
System.out.println(a + b); // 13
System.out.println(a % b); // 1

2. Relational (Comparison) Operators

Used to compare two values and return a boolean (true or false).

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

Example:

int age = 20;
System.out.println(age >= 18); // true

3. Logical Operators

Used to combine multiple boolean expressions.

Operator	Description	Example
&&	Logical AND	a > 5 && b < 10
!	Logical NOT	!(a > 5)

Example:

boolean isAdult = age >= 18;
boolean hasLicense = true;
System.out.println(isAdult && hasLicense); // true

4. Assignment Operators

Used to assign values to variables.

Operator	Description	Example	Meaning
=	Assign	a = 5	Assign 5 to a
+=	Add and assign	a += 3	a = a + 3
-=	Subtract and assign	a -= 2	a = a - 2
*=	Multiply and assign	a *= 4	a = a * 4
/=	Divide and assign	a /= 2	a = a / 2
%=	Modulo and assign	a %= 3	a = a % 3

Example:

int a = 10;
a += 5; // a is now 15

5. Unary Operators

Operate on a single operand.

Operator	Description	Example
+	Unary plus	+a
-	Unary minus	-a
++	Increment	a++, ++a
--	Decrement	a--, --a
!	Logical complement	!flag

Note:

• a++ (post-increment) returns the value then increments

• ++a (pre-increment) increments then returns the value

6. Bitwise Operators

Used for bit-level operations on integers.

Operator	Description	Example
&	Bitwise AND	a & b
|	Bitwise OR	a | b
^	Bitwise XOR	a ^ b
~	Bitwise complement	~a
<<	Left shift	a << 2
>>	Right shift	a >> 2
>>>	Unsigned right shift	a >>> 2

Example:

int a = 5;  // 0101 in binary
int b = 3;  // 0011 in binary
System.out.println(a & b); // 1

7. Ternary Operator

A shorthand form of if-else condition.

Operator	Description	Example
? :	Ternary conditional	a > b ? a : b

Example:

int max = (a > b) ? a : b;

8. instanceof Operator

Checks if an object is an instance of a specific class or interface.

Example:

String name = "John";
System.out.println(name instanceof String); // true

9. Type Cast Operator

Used to convert one data type to another.

Example:

double price = 99.99;
int intPrice = (int) price; // 99