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C Assignment Operators


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Assignment Operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables.

In the example below, we use the assignment operator (=) to assign the value 10 to a variable called x:

Example

int x = 10;
Try it Yourself »

The addition assignment operator (+=) adds a value to a variable:

Example

int x = 10;
x += 5;
Try it Yourself »

A list of all assignment operators:

Operator Example Same As Try it
= x = 5 x = 5 Try it »
+= x += 3 x = x + 3 Try it »
-= x -= 3 x = x - 3 Try it »
*= x *= 3 x = x * 3 Try it »
/= x /= 3 x = x / 3 Try it »
%= x %= 3 x = x % 3 Try it »
&= x &= 3 x = x & 3 Try it »
|= x |= 3 x = x | 3 Try it »
^= x ^= 3 x = x ^ 3 Try it »
>>= x >>= 3 x = x >> 3 Try it »
<<= x <<= 3 x = x << 3 Try it »

Note: Most assignment operators are just shorter ways of writing code. For example, x += 5 is the same as x = x + 5, but shorter and often easier to read.


Visualize Assignment Operators

Choose an operator below to see how it changes the value of x:

Code


How C calculates it

    Output

    Explanation



    Real-Life Example: Tracking Savings

    Assignment operators can also be used in real-life scenarios. For example, you can use the += operator to keep track of savings when you add money to an account:

    Example

    int savings = 100; 
    savings += 50; // add 50 to savings
    
    printf("Total savings: %d\n", savings);
    
    Try it Yourself »



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