C Operators, Operands,

Expressions &
Statements
Hands-on, crash course with code examples

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 C OPERATORS, OPERANDS,
EXPRESSION & STATEMENTS
Operators are symbols which take one or more operands or
expressions and perform arithmetic or logical computations.
Operands are variables or expressions which are used in
conjunction with operators to evaluate the expression.
Combination of operands and operators form an expression.
Expressions are sequences of operators, operands, and
punctuators that specify a computation.
Evaluation of expressions is based on the operators that the
expressions contain and the context in which they are used.
Expression can result in a value and can produce side effects.
A side effect is a change in the state of the execution
environment.
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 C OPERATORS
An expression is any valid set of literals, variables,
operators, operands and expressions that evaluates to a
single value.
This value can be a number, a string or a logical value.
For instance a = b + c; denotes an expression in which there
are 3 operands a, b, c and two operator + and =.
A statement, the smallest independent computational unit,
specifies an action to be performed.
In most cases, statements are executed in sequence.
The number of operands of an operator is called its arity.
Based on arity, operators are classified as nullary (no
operands), unary (1 operand), binary (2 operands), ternary
(3 operands).

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 C OPERATORS
Operators Description Example Usage
Postfix operators
Function call operator. A function call
is an expression containing the
function name followed by the
function call operator, (). If the sumUp(inum1, inum2)

function has been defined to receive displayName()

parameters, the values that are to be
() student(cname, iage,
sent into the function are listed inside caddress)
the parentheses of the function call Calculate(length, wide +
operator. The argument list can 7)

contain any number of expressions

separated by commas. It can also be
empty.

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 C OPERATORS
Array subscripting operator. A
postfix expression followed by an #include <stdio.h>
expression in [ ] (brackets)
int main(void)
specifies an element of an array. {
[] int a[3] = { 11, 12, 33 };
The expression within the brackets printf("a[0] = %d\n", a[0]);
is referred to as a subscript. The return 0;
}
first element of an array has the
subscript zero.
Dot operator used to access class,
. objectVar.memberOfStructUnion
structure, or union members type.
Arrow operator used to access
-> class, structure or union members aptrTo->memberOfStructUnion

using a pointer type.

1. Example 1: function call operator
2. Example 2: array subscripting operator
3. Example 3: pointer dot and arrow operator
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 C OPERATORS

Unary Operators
Unary plus maintains the value of the operand.
+ Any plus sign in front of a constant is not part +aNumber
of the constant.
Unary minus operator negates the value of the
operand. For example, if num variable has the
- value 200, -num has the value -200. Any -342
minus sign in front of a constant is not part of
the constant.

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 C OPERATORS
You can put the ++/-- before or after the operand. If it appears before the
operand, the operand is incremented/decremented. The incremented
value is then used in the expression. If you put the ++/-- after the operand,
the value of the operand is used in the expression before the operand is
incremented/decremented.
Post-increment. After the result is obtained, the
++ aNumber++
value of the operand is incremented by 1.
Post-decrement. After the result is obtained, the
-- aNumber--
value of the operand is decremented by 1.
Pre-increment. The operand is incremented by
++ 1 and its new value is the result of the ++yourNumber
expression.
Pre-decrement. The operand is decremented
-- by 1 and its new value is the result of the --yourNumber
expression.

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 C OPERATORS

The address-of operator (&) gives the address of its

operand. The operand of the address-of operator can
be either a function designator or an l-value that
designates an object that is not a bit field and is not
& declared with the register storage-class specifier.
&addressOfData
The result of the address operation is a pointer to the
operand. The type addressed by the pointer is the type
of the operand.
The indirection operator (*) accesses a value
indirectly, through a pointer. The operand must be a
pointer value. The result of the operation is the value
* addressed by the operand; that is, the value at the
*aPointerTo

address to which its operand points. The type of the

result is the type that the operand addresses.

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 C OPERATORS

sizeof operator for

sizeof sizeof 723
expressions
sizeof() sizeof operator for types sizeof(char)
Explicit conversion of the type
(type) cast- of an object in a specific
(float)i
expression situation. This is also call
automatic promotion.

Program example: plus, minus, address-of, pre and post increment/decrement,

sizeof() and type promotion

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 C OPERATORS
Multiplicative Operators
* The multiplication operator causes its two operands to be multiplied. p = q * r;
The division operator causes the first operand to be divided by the
second. If two integer operands are divided and the result is not an
integer, it is truncated according to the following rules:
1. The result of division by 0 is undefined according to the ANSI C
standard. The Microsoft C compiler generates an error at compile
time or run time.
/ 2. If both operands are positive or unsigned, the result is truncated
a = b / c;

toward 0.
3. If either operand is negative, whether the result of the operation is the
largest integer less than or equal to the algebraic quotient or is the
smallest integer greater than or equal to the algebraic quotient is
implementation defined.
The result of the remainder operator is the remainder when the first
operand is divided by the second. When the division is inexact, the result
is determined by the following rules:
% 1. If the right operand is zero, the result is undefined. x = y % z;
2. If both operands are positive or unsigned, the result is positive.
3. If either operand is negative and the result is inexact, the result is
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 C OPERATORS
Addition and subtraction Operators
+ addition d = e + f
- subtraction r = s t;
The operands can be integral or floating values. Some additive
operations can also be performed on pointer values, as outlined
under the discussion of each operator.
The additive operators perform the usual arithmetic conversions
on integral and floating operands. The type of the result is the
type of the operands after conversion.
Since the conversions performed by the additive operators do
not provide for overflow or underflow conditions, information may
be lost if the result of an additive operation cannot be
represented in the type of the operands after conversion.

Program example: assignment, add, subtract, multiply, divide and modulus

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 C OPERATORS

For relational expression, 0 is FALSE, 1 is TRUE.

Any numeric value is interpreted as either TRUE
or FALSE when it is used in a C / C++ expression
or statement that is expecting a logical (true or
false) value. The rules are:

1. A value of 0 represents FALSE.

2. Any non-zero (including negative numbers) value
represents TRUE.
Program example: true, false and negate

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 C OPERATORS
Relational Inequality Operators
The relational operators compare two operands and determine the validity of a
relationship.
Specifies whether the value of the left operand is less than the
value of the right operand. The type of the result is int and
< has the value 1 if the specified relationship is true, and 0 if i < 7

false.
Specifies whether the value of the left operand is greater than
the value of the right operand. The type of the result is int
> and has the value 1 if the specified relationship is true, and 0 if j > 5
false.
Specifies whether the value of the left operand is less than or
equal to the value of the right operand. The type of the result is
<= int and has the values 1 if the specified relationship is true, k <= 4

and 0 if false.
Specifies whether the value of the left operand is greater than
or equal to the value of the right operand. The type of the
>= result is int and has the values 1 if the specified relationship p >= 3

is true, and 0 if false. 13/46

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 C OPERATORS

Relational Equality Operators

The equality operators, like the relational operators, compare two operands for the validity of a
relationship.
Indicates whether the value of the left operand is equal to the
value of the right operand. The type of the result is int and has
the value 1 if the specified relationship is true, and 0 if false. The
equality operator (==) should not be confused with the
assignment (=) operator. For example:
== if (x == 4) evaluates to true (or 1) if x is equal to four. nChoice == 'Y'

while

if (x = 4) is taken to be true because (x = 4) evaluates to a

nonzero value (4). The expression also assigns the value 4 to x.
Indicates whether the value of the left operand is not equal to the
!= value of the right operand. The type of the result is int and has nChoice != 'Y'
the value 1 if the specified relationship is true, and 0 if false.

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 C OPERATORS

Expressions Evaluates as
(3 == 3) && (4 != 3) True (1) because both operands are true
True (1) because (either) one
(4 > 2) || (7 < 11)
operand/expression is true
(3 == 2) && (7 == 7) False (0) because one operand is false
! (4 == 3) True (1) because the expression is false
NOT(FALSE) = TRUE
NOT(TRUE) = FALSE

Program example: less-than, greater-than, less-than and equal-to, greater-

than and equal-to, not-equal, equal and assignment operators

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 C OPERATORS

Logical NOT Operator (unary)

Logical not operator. Produces value 0 if its
operand or expression is true (nonzero) and the
!(4 == 2)
! value 1 if its operand or expression is false (0). The
!x
result has an int type. The operand must be an
integral, floating, or pointer value.

Operand (or expression) Output

!0 1 ( T )
!1 0 ( F )

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 C OPERATORS
Logical AND Operator
Indicates whether both operands are true.
If both operands have nonzero values, the result has the value 1.
Otherwise, the result has the value 0. The type of the result is
int. Both operands must have an arithmetic or pointer type. The
usual arithmetic conversions on each operand are performed.
&& The logical AND (&&) should not be confused with the bitwise AND
x && y

(&) operator. For example:

1 && 4 evaluates to 1 (True && True = True)
while
1 & 4 (0001 & 0100 = 0000) evaluates to 0

Operand1 Operand2 Output

0 0 0 ( F )
0 1 0 ( F )
1 0 0 ( F )
1 1 1 ( T )
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 C OPERATORS
Logical OR Operator
Indicates whether either operand is true. If either of the
operands has a nonzero value, the result has the value
1. Otherwise, the result has the value 0. The type of the
result is int. Both operands must have a arithmetic or
pointer type. The usual arithmetic conversions on each
|| operand are performed. x || y
The logical OR (||) should not be confused with the
bitwise OR (|) operator. For example:

1 || 4 evaluates to 1 (or True || True = True)

while 1 | 4 (0001 | 0100 = 0101) evaluates to 5
Operand1 Operand2 Output
Program example: Logical-AND,
0 0 0 ( F )
logical-OR, logical-NOT, XOR
0 1 1 ( T )
operators
1 0 1 ( T )
1 1 1 ( T ) 18/46
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 C OPERATORS
Conditional Operator (ternary)
The first operand/expression is evaluated, and
its value determines whether the second or
third operand/expression is evaluated:
1. If the value is true, the second

operand/expression is evaluated.
?: 2. If the value is false, the third size != 0 ? size : 0
operand/expression is evaluated.
The result is the value of the second or third
operand/expression. The syntax is:

First operand ? second operand :

third operand
Program example: tenary conditional operator
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 C OPERATORS

The compound assignment operators consist of a binary

operator and the simple assignment operator.
They perform the operation of the binary operator on
both operands and store the result of that operation into
the left operand.
The following table lists the simple and compound
assignment operators and expression examples:

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 C OPERATORS

Simple Assignment Operator

The simple assignment operator has
the following form:
lvalue = expr
The operator stores the value of the
= right operand expr in the object i = 5 + x;
designated by the left operand lvalue.
The left operand must be a modifiable
lvalue.
The type of an assignment operation is
the type of the left operand.

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 C OPERATORS
Compound
Assignment Example Equivalent expression
Operator
identifier operator= entity represents identifier =
identifier operator entity
+= nindex += 3 index = nindex + 3
-= *(paPter++) -= 1 * paPter = *( paPter ++) - 1
*= fbonus *= fpercent fbonus = fbonus * fpercent
ftimePeriod = ftimePeriod /
/= ftimePeriod /= fhours
fhours
%= fallowance %= 80 fallowance = fallowance % 80
<<= iresult <<= inum iresult = iresult << inum
>>= byleftForm >>= 1 byleftForm = byleftForm >> 1
&= bybitMask &= 2 bybitMask = bybitMask & 2
^= itestSet ^= imainTest itestSet = itestSet ^ imainTest
|= bflag |= bonBit bflag = bflag | bonBit

Program example: compound operators 22/46

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 C OPERATORS
Comma Operator
A comma expression contains two operands of any type separated by a comma and has
left-to-right associativity. The left operand is fully evaluated, possibly producing side effects,
and its value, if there is one, is discarded. The right operand is then evaluated. The type
and value of the result of a comma expression are those of its right operand, after the usual
unary conversions. In some contexts where the comma character is used, parentheses are
required to avoid ambiguity. The primary use of the comma operator is to produce side
effects in the following situations:
1. Calling a function.
2. Entering or repeating an iteration loop.
, 3. Testing a condition.
4. Other situations where a side effect is required but the result of the expression is not
immediately needed.
The use of the comma token as an operator is distinct from its use in function calls and
definitions, variable declarations, enum declarations, and similar constructs, where it acts
as a separator.
Because the comma operator discards its first operand, it is generally only useful where the
first operand has desirable side effects, such as in the initializer or the counting expression
of a for loop.
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 C OPERATORS
The following table gives some examples of the uses of the comma operator.
Statement Effects
A for statement in which i is incremented and
for (i=0; i<4; ++i, func());
func() is called at each iteration.
An if statement in which function func() is called,
variable i is incremented, and variable i is tested
against a value. The first two expressions within this
if (func(), ++i, i>1 )
comma expression are evaluated before the
{ /* ... */ }
expression i>1. Regardless of the results of the first
two expressions, the third is evaluated and its result
determines whether the if statement is processed.
A function call to func1() in which iaArg is
incremented, the resulting value is passed to a
function func2(), and the return value of func2() is
func1((++iaArg, func2(iaArg))); passed to func1(). The function func1() is passed
only a single argument, because the comma
expression is enclosed in parentheses within the
function argument list.
int inum=3, inum2=7, inum3 = 2; Comma acts as separator, not as an operator.
Program example: comma operator 24/46
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 C OPERATORS
Bitwise (complement) NOT Operators
The ~ (bitwise negation) operator yields the bitwise (one)
complement of the operand. In the binary representation of the
result, every bit has the opposite value of the same bit in the binary
~ representation of the operand. The operand must have an integral
type. The result has the same type as the operand but is not an
lvalue (left value). The symbol used called tilde.
Suppose byNum variable represents the decimal value 8. The 16-bit binary representation of
byNum is:

00000000 00001000

The expression ~byNum yields the following result (represented here as a 16-bit binary
number):

11111111 11110111

Note that the ~ character can be represented by the trigraph ??-.

The 16-bit binary representation of ~0 (which is ~00000000 00000000) is:

11111111 11111111 25/46

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 C OPERATORS
Bitwise Shift Operators
Left shift operator, shift their first operand left (<<) by the
<< nbits << nshiftSize
number of positions specified by the second operand.

Right shift operator, shift their first operand right (>>) by the
>> nbits >> nshiftSize
number of positions specified by the second operand.
Both operands must be integral values. These operators perform the usual arithmetic conversions; the
type of the result is the type of the left operand after conversion.
For leftward shifts, the vacated right bits are set to 0. For rightward shifts, the vacated left bits are filled
based on the type of the first operand after conversion. If the type is unsigned, they are set to 0.
Otherwise, they are filled with copies of the sign bit. For left-shift operators without overflow, the
statement:

expression1 << expression2

is equivalent to multiplication by 2expression2. For right-shift operators:

expression1 >> expression2

is equivalent to division by 2expression2 if expression1 is unsigned or has a nonnegative value.

The result of a shift operation is undefined if the second operand is negative, or if the right operand is
greater than or equal to the width in bits of the promoted left operand.
Since the conversions performed by the shift operators do not provide for overflow or underflow
conditions, information may be lost if the result of a shift operation cannot be represented in the type of
the first operand after conversion. 26/46
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 C OPERATORS

Program example: bitwise shift left, bitwise shift right and bitwise-NOT operators
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 C OPERATORS
Bitwise AND Operator
The & (bitwise AND) operator compares each bit of its first
operand to the corresponding bit of the second operand. If both
bits are 1's, the corresponding bit of the result is set to 1.
Otherwise, it sets the corresponding result bit to 0.
Both operands must have an integral or enumeration type. The
usual arithmetic conversions on each operand are performed. The
result has the same type as the converted operands.
Because the bitwise AND operator has both associative and
& commutative properties, the compiler can rearrange the operands
in an expression that contains more than one bitwise AND
operator.
The bitwise AND (&) should not be confused with the logical AND.
(&&) operator. For example:

1 & 4 evaluates to 0 (0001 & 0100 = 0000) while

1 && 4 evaluates to true [True && True = True]
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C OPERATORS

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 C OPERATORS
Bitwise XOR Operator
The bitwise exclusive OR operator (in EBCDIC, the ^ symbol is
represented by the symbol) compares each bit of its first
operand to the corresponding bit of the second operand. If both
bits are 1's or both bits are 0's, the corresponding bit of the result
is set to 0. Otherwise, it sets the corresponding result bit to 1.
Both operands must have an integral or enumeration type. The
usual arithmetic conversions on each operand are performed. The
^ result has the same type as the converted operands and is not an
lvalue (left value).
Because the bitwise exclusive OR operator has both associative
and commutative properties, the compiler can rearrange the
operands in an expression that contains more than one bitwise
exclusive OR operator. Note that the ^ character can be
represented by the trigraph ??'. The symbol used called caret.

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C OPERATORS

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 C OPERATORS
Bitwise (Inclusive) OR Operator
The | (bitwise inclusive OR) operator compares the values (in binary
format) of each operand and yields a value whose bit pattern shows
which bits in either of the operands has the value 1. If both of the bits are
0, the result of that bit is 0; otherwise, the result is 1.
Both operands must have an integral or enumeration type. The usual
arithmetic conversions on each operand are performed. The result has
the same type as the converted operands and is not an lvalue.
Because the bitwise inclusive OR operator has both associative and
| commutative properties, the compiler can rearrange the operands in an
expression that contains more than one bitwise inclusive OR operator.
Note that the | character can be represented by the trigraph ??!.
The bitwise OR (|) should not be confused with the logical OR (||)
operator. For example:

1 | 4 evaluates to 5 (0001 | 0100 = 0101) while 1 || 4 (True

|| True = True) evaluates to true

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 C OPERATORS

Program example: bitwise-AND, bitwise-OR and eXclusive-OR

(XOR) operators
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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE

Consider the following arithmetic operation:

- left to right
6 / 2 * 1 + 2 = 5
- right to left
Inconsistent
6/2 * 1 + 2 = 1 answers!
- using parentheses
= 6 / (2 * 1) + 2
= (6 / 2) + 2
= 3 + 2
= 5

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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
Operator precedence: a rule used to clarify
unambiguously which operations (operator
and operands) should be performed first in
the given (mathematical) expression.
Use precedence levels that conform to the
order commonly used in mathematics.
However, parentheses take the highest
precedence and operation performed from
the innermost to the outermost
parentheses.
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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE

Precedence and associativity of C

operators affect the grouping and
evaluation of operands in expressions.
Is meaningful only if other operators
with higher or lower precedence are
present.
Expressions with higher-precedence
operators are evaluated first.

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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
Precedence and Associativity of C Operators
Symbol Type of Operation Associativity
[ ] ( ) . > postfix ++ and postfix Expression Left to right
prefix ++ and prefix sizeof
Unary Right to left
& * + ~ !
typecasts Unary Right to left
* / % Multiplicative Left to right
+ Additive Left to right
<< >> Bitwise shift Left to right
< > <= >= Relational Left to right
== != Equality Left to right
& Bitwise-AND Left to right
^ Bitwise-exclusive-OR Left to right
| Bitwise-inclusive-OR Left to right
&& Logical-AND Left to right
|| Logical-OR Left to right
? : Conditional-expression Right to left
= *= /= %=
Simple and compound
+= = <<= >>= &= Right to left
assignment
^= |=
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Sequential evaluation Left to right 37/46
 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
The precedence and associativity (the order
in which the operands are evaluated) of C
operators.
In the order of precedence from highest to
lowest.
If several operators appear together, they
have equal precedence and are evaluated
according to their associativity.
All simple and compound-assignment
operators have equal precedence.
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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
Operators with equal precedence such
as + and -, evaluation proceeds
according to the associativity of the
operator, either from right to left or from
left to right.
The direction of evaluation does not
affect the results of expressions that
include more than one multiplication (*),
addition (+), or binary-bitwise (& | ^)
operator at the same level.

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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE

e.g: 3 + 5 + (3 + 2) = 13 right to left

(3 + 5) + 3 + 2 = 13 left to right
3 + (5 + 3) + 2 = 13 from middle

Order of operations is not defined by the

language.
The compiler is free to evaluate such
expressions in any order, if the compiler can
guarantee a consistent result.

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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
Only the sequential-evaluation (,), logical-AND
(&&), logical-OR (||), conditional-expression (?
:), and function-call operators constitute
sequence points and therefore guarantee a
particular order of evaluation for their operands.
The sequential-evaluation operator (,) is
guaranteed to evaluate its operands from left to
right.
The comma operator in a function call is not the
same as the sequential-evaluation operator and
does not provide any such guarantee.
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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
Logical operators also guarantee evaluation
of their operands from left to right.
But, they evaluate the smallest number of
operands needed to determine the result of
the expression.
This is called "short-circuit" evaluation.
Thus, some operands of the expression may
not be evaluated.

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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE

For example:
x && y++
The second operand, y++, is
evaluated only if x is true (nonzero).
Thus, y is not incremented if x is false
(0).

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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
Label the execution order for the following expressions

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 OPERATOR PRECEDENCE
Convert the following operations to C
expression

a. (rate*rate) + delta
b. 2*(salary + bonus)
c. 1/(time + (3*mass))
d. (a - 7) / (t + (9 * v))

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 End of C Operators,
Operands, Expressions &
Statements

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