Java Operators & Expressions

Operator

A symbol that performs an action on values (operands) and produces a result.

Arithmetic Operators

Used for basic math operations:

• + (add), - (subtract), * (multiply), / (divide), % (modulus = remainder).

Assignment Operators

Assign values to variables. Examples:

• = (basic assignment)

• +=, -=, *=, /=, %= (combine operation + assignment).

Unary Operators

Work on a single operand. Examples:

• + (positive), - (negative)

• ++ (increment), -- (decrement)

• ! (logical NOT)

Pre-Increment / Pre-Decrement

Changes the value before it’s used in an expression.

Post-Increment / Post-Decrement

Changes the value after it’s used in an expression.

Comparison / Relational Operators

Compare two values and return true/false:

• ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=.

Shift Operators

Move bits left or right in binary form:

• << (left shift), >> (right shift), >>> (unsigned right shift).

Bitwise Operators

Operate on individual bits:

• & (AND), | (OR), ^ (XOR), ~ (NOT).

Logical Operators

Combine boolean expressions:

• && (AND, short-circuit), || (OR, short-circuit).

Short-Circuit Evaluation

When using && or ||, Java may skip the second condition if the first one already decides the result.

Conditional (Ternary) Operator

Shorthand for if-else: (condition) ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse.

Order of Precedence

Rules that decide which operator runs first. Higher precedence executes earlier (e.g., * before +). Parentheses () can override.

Expression

A combination of variables, constants, and operators that evaluates to a single value.

Arithmetic Expression

An expression that uses arithmetic operators (e.g., x + y).

Assignment Expression

An expression that assigns a value (e.g., a = b + 4).

Relational Expression

An expression that compares values and returns true/false (e.g., x < y).

Logical Expression

An expression that combines conditions with logical operators (e.g., (a > b) && (b < 10)).

Conditional Expression

An expression using the ternary operator to choose a value (e.g., (x > y) ? x : y).