---
title: Operators
---

# Operators :

* Operators let you perform operations on your data.
* The data that is being operated on is called the  _operand_ .
* The different types of operators in C++ are : 
* *OPERANDS* are the data on which the operator performs certain commands.
* Operators are of 3 types : unary(works on 1 operand), binary(works on 2 operands) , ternary(works on 3 operands).

### 1 The I/O operators -

* These operators allow you to direct input and output.
 ## The Input oerator ">>" ## 
 is used to read data from standard input (the "cin" statement) .  

 ##The Output operator "<<"##
 is used to send output in the `cout` statement.

### 2 The Arithmetic operators -

* These operators allow you to perform basic arithmetic operations.
 1. The `+` operator *adds* the two operands.
 2. The `-` operator *subtracts* the two operands.
 3. The `*` operator *multiplies* the two operands.
 4. The `/` operator *divides* and gives the *quotient* of the two operands.
 5. The `%` operator *divides* and gives the *remainder* of the two operands. (Or, for the more mathematically inclined reader, `a % b` is essentially the result of "a mod b"

 ### Example of using arithmetic operators :
 
 ```cpp
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
        int a = 5; //1st operand
        int b = 10; //2nd operand
        
        cout << "+ operator " << a+b << "\n"; //Add
        cout << "- operator " << a-b << "\n"; //Subtract
        cout << "* operator " << a*b << "\n"; //Multiply
        cout << "/ operator " << b/a << "\n"; //Find Quotient
        cout << "modulus operator " << b%a << "\n"; //Find remainder
        
        return 0; 
}
 ```
 
 OUTPUT :
```
+ operator 15
- operator -5
* operator 50
/ operator 2
modulus operator 0
```

<a href='https://repl.it/Mge9' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Try the code yourself ! :) </a>

### The increment operator :

* `++` is known as the increment operator. It increases the value of an integer variable by 1.

The 2 types of increment : 

* Pre increment first increments the value and then uses it. Example : `int a ; ++a;`
* Post increment first uses the variable then increments it. Example : `int b; b++;`

### The decrement operator :

* `--` is known as the decrement operator. It decreases the value of an integer variable by 1.

The 2 types of decrement : 

* Pre decrement first decrements the value and then uses it. Example : `int a ; --a;`
* Post decrement first uses the variable then decrements it. Example : `int b; b--;`

Example of Increment and decrement operators :

```cpp
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{ 
        int a = 3 ,b = 4;
  
         // INCREMENT
        cout<< "Value of int a PRE INCREMENTED : " << ++a << "\n";
        cout<< "Value of int b POST INCREMENTED : " << b++ << "\n";
        cout<< "Value of b is changed after using once : " << b << "\n";
  
         // DECREMENT
        cout << "\n"; //go to next line 
        a = 10; //Assigning a new value to a
        b = 10; //Assigning a new value to b
        cout << "Value of int a PRE DECREMENTED : " << --a << "\n";
        cout << "Value of int b POST DECREMENTED : " << b-- << "\n";
        cout << "Value of b is changed after using once : " << b << "\n";
        
        return 0;
}
```

OUTPUT :

```
Value of int a PRE INCREMENTED : 4
Value of int b POST INCREMENTED : 4
Value of b is changed after using once : 5

Value of int a PRE DECREMENTED : 9
Value of int b POST DECREMENTED : 10
Value of b is changed after using once : 9
```

<a href='https://repl.it/Mgg4/2' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Try the code yourself ! :) </a>

### 3 : Relational Operators :

* These operators tell us the relation among 2 operands and return a boolean value(0 or 1). If the relation is `true` then it results into 1 . If the realtion is false then it results into 0.

* The 6 relational operators are :
    1. Less than `<`
    2. Greater than `>`
    3. Less than or equal to `<=`
    4. Greater than or equal to `>=`
    5. Equal to `==`
    6. Not equal to `!=`


### 4 : Logical Operators : 

* These operators combine expressions for logical operations . They are :
 1. Logical AND `&&` : Evaluates to true if both values are true .
 2. Logical OR `||`  : Evaluates to true if any value is true .
 3. Logical NOT `!`  : If *expression* is true then *!expression* is false. This operator reverses the truth value and is a unary operator.
 
 ### 5. Ternary Operators : 
 
 The `?:` operator is the ternary operator, or the _conditional operator_, becuase it can be used to substitute an `if else` statement, or even an `if else if` statement.
The syntax: 

`condition ? ValueIfTrue : ValueIfFalse `. This expands to:

```cpp
if(condition)
 ValueIfTrue;
else ValueIfFalse;
```

Calling `ValueIfTrue` a value is a bit wrong, since it need not be a number. Something like this:

`condition ? FirstLevelTrueValue : ConditionIfFalse ? SecondLevelTrueValue : SecondLevelFalseValue ` also works, and is interpreted as the following `if else if` statement:

```cpp
if(condition)
 FirstLevelTrueValue;
else if(ConditionIfFalse)
 SecondLevelTrueValue;
else SecondLevelFalseValue;
```
Similarly, nested `if` statements can also be made using ternary operators.


_Camper , You now know what tokens are. The next article will be about <need-to-put-topic> CONGRATULATIONS_ 
 
 **Good Luck to all of you** 
 
 **Happy Coding ! :)**
 
 **Feel free to ask any queries on FreeCodeCamp's GitHub page or <a href='https://forum.freecodecamp.org/' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>FreeCodeCamp's Forum .</a>**