Bitwise Operator in Java

Last Updated: 28 May, 2022

What is an Operator in Java?

Operators are special symbols that perform the specified operations. Each operator is responsible to perform some specific operation on variables or values and return a result. The operators are classified and listed according to precedence order.

Java supports the following types of operators:

1. Arithmetic Operator
2. Assignment Operator
3. Bitwise Operator
4. Logical Operator
5. Relational Operator
6. Ternary Operator
7. Unary Operator

What is Bitwise Operator in Java?

Bitwise operators work on binary digits (0 or 1) or bits of input values. They can be used with any integral type such as byte, short, int, and long.

Bit is a smallest unit of data, each bit contains a single value that is either 0 or 1.

In computer programming, a bitwise operation operates on a bit string, a bit array or a binary numeral (considered as a bit string) at the level of its individual bits. It is a fast and simple action, basic to the higher-level arithmetic operations and directly supported by the processor. Most bitwise operations are presented as two-operand instructions where the result replaces one of the input operands.

Types of Bitwise Operators in Java

There are the following types of Bitwise Operators in Java they perform bit level operations.

• Bitwise AND (&)
• Bitwise OR (|)
• Bitwise XOR (^)
• Bitwise Complement (~)
• Left Shift (<<)
• Right Shift (>>)
• Unsigned Right Shift (>>>)

See the give table of Bitwise Operators:

Let's understand the bitwise operators in details with examples.

Bitwise AND (&)

Bitwise AND is a binary operator denoted by the symbol &. It returns 1 if both bits are 1, else returns 0. For example,

a = 6,     Binary Value of 6: 0110
b = 5,     Binary Value of 5: 0101

Let's understand bitwise AND (&) operator in a Java program.

Example 1 : Bitwise AND (&) Operator

public class BitwiseAndExample { public static void main(String[] args) { int a = 6, b = 5; // Bitwise AND operation between 6 and 5 System.out.println("a & b = " + (a & b)); } }

Output

a & b = 4

Bitwise OR ( | )

Bitwise OR is also an binary operator denoted by the symbol |. It returns 1 if any bit is 1, else returns 0. For example,

a = 6,     Binary Value of 6: 0110
b = 7,     Binary Value of 7: 0111

Let's understand bitwise OR (|) operator in a Java program.

Example 2 : Bitwise OR (|) Operator

public class BitwiseORExample { public static void main(String[] args) { int a = 6, b = 7; // bitwise OR between 6 and 7 System.out.println("a | b = " + (a | b)); } }

Output

a | b = 7

Bitwise XOR ( ^ )

Bitwise XOR is also an binary operator denoted by the symbol ^ (pronounced as caret). It returns 1 if both the bits are same, else returns 0. For example,

a = 6,     Binary Value of 6: 0110
b = 7,     Binary Value of 7: 0111

Let's understand bitwise XOR (^) operator in a Java program.

Example 3 : Bitwise XOR (^) Operator

public class BitwiseXORExample { public static void main(String[] args) { int a = 6, b = 7; // bitwise XOR between 6 and 7 System.out.println("a ^ b = " + (a ^ b)); } }

Output

a ^ b = 1

Bitwise Complement ( ~ )

Bitwise Complement is an unary operator (works with only one operand), denoted by the symbol ~ (pronounced as tilde). It returns the one’s complement representation of the input value, i.e., with all bits inverted, which means It changes binary digits 1 to 0 and 0 to 1. For example,

a = 6,     Binary Value of 6: 0110

Let's understand bitwise Complement (~) operator in a Java program.

Example 4 : Bitwise Complement (~) Operator

public class BitwiseComplementExample { public static void main(String[] args) { int a = 6; // bitwise complement 6 System.out.println("~a = " + ~a); } }

Output

~a = -7

Bit Shift Operators

Shift operators are used to shifting the bits either right or left direction. We use shift operators if we divide or multiply any number by 2.

Syntax of Shift Operator:

variable shift_op_symbol number_of_places_to_shift;

For example,

a = 5; a >> 2; // shifting 2 bits a >> 4; // shifting 4 bits

Java supports mainly three types of shift operators:

1. Signed Left Shift (<<)
2. Signed Right Shift (>>)
3. Unsigned Right Shift (>>>)

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Please note that Java does not support the unsigned left shift operator (<<<).

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