assignment statement in c

Example of Augmented Arithmetic and Assignment Operators

There can be five combinations of bitwise operators with the assignment operator, "=". Let's look at them one by one.

Example of Augmented Bitwise and Assignment Operators

Practice problems on assignment operators in c, 1. what will the value of "x" be after the execution of the following code.

The correct answer is 52. x starts at 50, increases by 5 to 55, then decreases by 3 to 52.

2. After executing the following code, what is the value of the number variable?

The correct answer is 144. After right-shifting 73 (binary 1001001) by one and then left-shifting the result by two, the value becomes 144 (binary 10010000).

Benefits of Using Assignment Operators

• Simplifies Code: For example, x += 1 is shorter and clearer than x = x + 1.
• Reduces Errors: They break complex expressions into simpler, more manageable parts thus reducing errors.
• Improves Readability: They make the code easier to read and understand by succinctly expressing common operations.
• Enhances Performance: They often operate in place, potentially reducing the need for additional memory or temporary variables.

Best Practices and Tips for Using the Assignment Operator

While performing arithmetic operations with the same variable, use compound assignment operators

• Initialize Variables When Declaring int count = 0 ; // Initialization
• Avoid Complex Expressions in Assignments a = (b + c) * (d - e); // Consider breaking it down: int temp = b + c; a = temp * (d - e);
• Avoid Multiple Assignments in a Single Statement // Instead of this a = b = c = 0 ; // Do this a = 0 ; b = 0 ; c = 0 ;
• Consistent Formatting int result = 0 ; result += 10 ;

When mixing assignments with other operations, use parentheses to ensure the correct order of evaluation.

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cppreference.com

Assignment operators.

Assignment operators modify the value of the object.

[ edit ] Definitions

Copy assignment replaces the contents of the object a with a copy of the contents of b ( b is not modified). For class types, this is performed in a special member function, described in copy assignment operator .

For non-class types, copy and move assignment are indistinguishable and are referred to as direct assignment .

Compound assignment replace the contents of the object a with the result of a binary operation between the previous value of a and the value of b .

[ edit ] Assignment operator syntax

The assignment expressions have the form

• ↑ target-expr must have higher precedence than an assignment expression.
• ↑ new-value cannot be a comma expression, because its precedence is lower.

[ edit ] Built-in simple assignment operator

For the built-in simple assignment, the object referred to by target-expr is modified by replacing its value with the result of new-value . target-expr must be a modifiable lvalue.

The result of a built-in simple assignment is an lvalue of the type of target-expr , referring to target-expr . If target-expr is a bit-field , the result is also a bit-field.

[ edit ] Assignment from an expression

If new-value is an expression, it is implicitly converted to the cv-unqualified type of target-expr . When target-expr is a bit-field that cannot represent the value of the expression, the resulting value of the bit-field is implementation-defined.

If target-expr and new-value identify overlapping objects, the behavior is undefined (unless the overlap is exact and the type is the same).

In overload resolution against user-defined operators , for every type T , the following function signatures participate in overload resolution:

For every enumeration or pointer to member type T , optionally volatile-qualified, the following function signature participates in overload resolution:

For every pair A1 and A2 , where A1 is an arithmetic type (optionally volatile-qualified) and A2 is a promoted arithmetic type, the following function signature participates in overload resolution:

[ edit ] Built-in compound assignment operator

The behavior of every built-in compound-assignment expression target-expr   op   =   new-value is exactly the same as the behavior of the expression target-expr   =   target-expr   op   new-value , except that target-expr is evaluated only once.

The requirements on target-expr and new-value of built-in simple assignment operators also apply. Furthermore:

• For + = and - = , the type of target-expr must be an arithmetic type or a pointer to a (possibly cv-qualified) completely-defined object type .
• For all other compound assignment operators, the type of target-expr must be an arithmetic type.

In overload resolution against user-defined operators , for every pair A1 and A2 , where A1 is an arithmetic type (optionally volatile-qualified) and A2 is a promoted arithmetic type, the following function signatures participate in overload resolution:

For every pair I1 and I2 , where I1 is an integral type (optionally volatile-qualified) and I2 is a promoted integral type, the following function signatures participate in overload resolution:

For every optionally cv-qualified object type T , the following function signatures participate in overload resolution:

[ edit ] Example

Possible output:

[ edit ] Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

[ edit ] See also

Operator precedence

Operator overloading

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C Assignment Operators

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An assignment operation assigns the value of the right-hand operand to the storage location named by the left-hand operand. Therefore, the left-hand operand of an assignment operation must be a modifiable l-value. After the assignment, an assignment expression has the value of the left operand but isn't an l-value.

assignment-expression :   conditional-expression   unary-expression assignment-operator assignment-expression

assignment-operator : one of   = *= /= %= += -= <<= >>= &= ^= |=

The assignment operators in C can both transform and assign values in a single operation. C provides the following assignment operators:

In assignment, the type of the right-hand value is converted to the type of the left-hand value, and the value is stored in the left operand after the assignment has taken place. The left operand must not be an array, a function, or a constant. The specific conversion path, which depends on the two types, is outlined in detail in Type Conversions .

• Assignment Operators

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Assignment Statement (=) in C Language

Assignment Statement in C language is a statement that assigns or set a value to a variable during program execution. Assignement statements in programming allows the programmer to change or set the value stored in variable using Assignment(=) Operator. The process of assigning the value to a variable using the assignment(=) operator is known as an assignment statement in C. Assignment(=) Operator Assigns The value or value in a variable on right hand side to the variable on the left hand side. The data type of the variable on right hand side should match to the data type of variable or constant or expression on right hand side. C Language has different (types) ways to assigns values to variable, we will learn from the diagram given below.

  Syntax :1.Basic Assignment statement

Data Type Variable_name = variable/ constant /expression; The Variable_name is assigned the values in variable or constants or expression. The data type of the variable/ constant/expression on right hand side should match to the left hand side variable Variable_name with a few exceptions where automatic type conversions are possible.

Naming Rules or conventions for Assignment Statement

Programmer need to follow some Rules while writing the Assignment Statements in C program: 1. Variable names should not begin or start with number. Variable name can a letter, underscore, non-number any character like alphabet,underscore. 2. A new value assigned to an existing variable will overwrite the previous value and assign the new value to the variable. 3. The Data type defined and the variable value must match. 4.All the statements declaration must end with a semi-colon. (;) 5. The name of variable must be meaningful and clearly describe the purpose of variable name. 6.Duplicate name of variable is not allowed i.e the name once defined can only be used once in the program. programmer cannot redefine it to store other types of value.

Example 1: C program to illustrates the use of Simple Assignment statement .

/* e.g. C program to illustrate the use of simple Assignment statement or basic of assignment statements */ #include<stdio.h> int main() { int a,b,c; float avg; a = 9 ; c = 10 ; b = c ; printf("\n a=%d",a); printf("\n b=%d",b); printf("\n c=%d",c); b = c+3; printf("\n Value of b after b=c+3-->%d",b); avg = (b+c) / 2.0; printf("\n Value of avg=%.2f",avg); a = b && c; printf("\n a=b&&c--->%d",a); a = (b+c) && (b <c); printf("\n a=(b+c) && (b <c)--->%d",a); return(0); } Output: a=9 b=10 c=10 Value of b after b=c+3-->13 Value of avg=11.50 a=b&&c--->1 a=(b+c) && (b <c)--->0

Program Explanation: 1. In the above program a,b,c is declared as integer variable to store the numbers where as avg is declared as float. int a,b,c; float avg; 2. a = 9 ; c = 10 ; b = c ; variable a is assigned value 9. variable c is assigned value 10. and b is assigned the value of c. Here value of b is 10 .i.e. b=10 3. printf("\n a=%d",a); printf("\n b=%d",b); printf("\n c=%d",c); The above statements displays the integer values of variable a,b,c a=9 b=10 c=10 4. b = c+3; printf("\n Value of b after b=c+3-->%d",b); here 3 is added in c(value of vaiable c is 10) it becomes 13 and value 13 is assigned to left hand side variable b , here b is 13 i.e. b=13. the printf() displays output " Value of b after b=c+3--->13". 5. avg = (b+c) / 2.0; printf("\n Value of avg=%.2f",avg); After execution of a=(b+c)/2.0 the value of a is 11.50 so the output shown by printf() is "Value of avg=11.50". 6. a = b && c; printf("\n a=b&&c--->%d",a); Logical anding operation is performed on the values in the variables a and b. The value of c=10 and the value of b=13. After succesful execution of this statement value of variable a is 1 or 'true'. Any value in a variable except 'zero' (0 i.e false) is considered 'true' or 1. The variable a is assigned to the integer value 1 which is true. so a=1 && 1 is a=1 or a=true && true is a=true or a=1. printf("\n a=b&&c--->%d",a); displays output a=b&&c---->1 7. a = (b+c) && (b <c); printf("\n a=(b+c) && (b <c)--->%d",a); here expression (b+c) is true(1) and (b <c) is false(0). so the entire expression evaluates to false(0) and the value is assigned to the variable a i.e a=0. the printf() display the message " a=(b+c) && (b <c)--->0 "

2.Compound Assignment: As we learn in above section the simple assignment statement is used to assign values in right hand side variable to left hand side variable using = operator. A compound assignment operator has a shorter syntax to assign the result. A compound assignment operator or statements are used to do mathematical operation in shortcut. Two operands needs to perform the compound assignment operations. The operation is performed on the two operands before the result is assigned to the first operand. compound assignment operator are binary operators that modify the variable to their left hand side using the value or variable to their right.

Syntax: expression1+= expression2; These type of expression can also be written in expanded form, that is expression1=expression1+expression2;

+= Operator is called compound assignment operator. C Language provides the following list of compound Assignment Operators. 1.   += plus equal to += is Addition and Assignment operators. It add the value of the variable1 and variable2 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X+=Y In the above expression the addition of values in X and Y is performd and assigns result to X. The expression X+=Y is same as X=X+Y 2.   -= minus equal to -= is Subtraction and Assignment operators. It Subtract the value of the variable2 from variable1 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X-=Y In the above expression the subtraction is performd,the value of X is subtracted from the value in X and assigns result to X. The expression X-=Y is same as X=X-Y 3.   *= Multiplication equal to *= is Multiplication and Assignment operators. It Multiply the value of the variable1 and variable2 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X*=Y In the above expression the Multiplication is performd,the value of X is Multiplyed to the value in Y and assigns result to X. The expression X*=Y is same as X=X*Y 4.   /= Division equal to *= is Division and Assignment operators. It Divides the value of the variable1 byvariable2 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X/=Y In the above expression the Division is performd,the value of X is Divided by the value in Y and assigns result to X. The expression X/=Y is same as X=X/Y 5.   %= Modulus equal to %= is Modulus and Assignment operators. It Divides the value of the variable1 byvariable2 and assigns the remainder to variable1. e.g. X%=Y In the above expression the Division is performd,the value of X is Divided by the value in Y and assigns remainder to X. The expression X%=Y is same as X=X%Y 6.   &= Bitwise and equal to &= is Bitwise AND and Assignment operators. It performs the bitwise AND with variable1 and variable2 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X&=Y In the above expression the bitwise anding operation is performd, after executing the X&=Y expression the result is assigned to X. The expression X&=Y is same as X=X&Y 7.   |= Bitwise OR equal to != is Bitwise OR Assignment operators. It performs the bitwise OR with variable1 and variable2 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X|=Y In the above expression the bitwise OR operation is performd, after executing the X|=Y expression the result is assigned to X. The expression X|=Y is same as X=X|Y 8.   ^= Bitwise XOR equal to ^= is Bitwise XOR Assignment operators. It performs the bitwise XOR with variable1 and variable2 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X^=Y In the above expression the bitwise XOR operation is performd, after executing the X^=Y expression the result is assigned to X. The expression X^=Y is same as X=X^Y. 9.   Bitwise left shift and equal to e.g. X In the above expression the bitwise left shift operation is performd, after executing the X The expression X 10.   >>= Bitwise right shift and equal to >>= is Bitwise Right Shift and Assignment operators. It performs the bitwise Right shift with variable1 and assigns the result to variable1. e.g. X>>=Y In the above expression the bitwise right shift operation is performd, after executing the X>>=Y expression the result is assigned to X. The expression X>>=Y is same as X=X>>Y Lets Learn and practice The Assigment operator in detail using the following C program.

2. Assignment Operator complete C Program.

#include <stdio.h> int main() {   /* Simple Assignment*/   int x,i;  int y,j;  float c=30.0;  float d=5.0;  /*Nested or Multiple Assignment */  x = i = 5;  y = j = 3;  /*Compound Assignment*/   x += y;   printf("After Add and Assign :%d \n",x);  i -= j;  printf("After Subtract and Assign :%d \n",i);  x *= y;  printf("After Multiple and Assign :%d \n",x);  c /= d;  printf("After Divide and Assign :%f \n",c);  j %= i;  printf("After Modulo and Assign :%d \n",j);  j &= i; printf("After Bitwise And and Assign :%d \n",j);  j |= i;   printf("After Bitwise OR and Assign :%d \n",j);   x ^= y;  printf("After Bitwise XOR and Assign :%d \n",a);   x   printf ("After Bitwise Left Shift and Assign :%d \n",a);  x >>= 3;  printf ("After Bitwise Right Shift and Assign :%d \n",a);   return(0); }

Output: After Add and Assign :8 After Subtract and Assign :2 After Multiple and Assign :24 After Divide and Assign :6.000000 After Modulo and Assign :1 After Bitwise And and Assign :0 After Bitwise OR and Assign :2 After Bitwise XOR and Assign :27 After Bitwise Left Shift and Assign :108 After Bitwise Right Shift and Assign :13

/** * C program to check leap year using conditional operator ? */ #include <stdio.h> int main() { int year; /* * Input the year from user */ printf("Enter any year: "); scanf("%d", &year); /* * If year%4==0 and year%100==0 then * print leap year * else if year%400==0 then * print leap year * else * print common year */ (year%4==0 && year%100!=0) ? printf("LEAP YEAR") : (year%400 ==0 ) ? printf("LEAP YEAR") : printf("COMMON YEAR"); return 0; } Output: Enter any year 2004 LEAP YEAR

/** * C program to check leap year using conditional operator ? */ #include <stdio.h> int main() { int year; /* * Input the year from user */ printf("Enter any year: "); scanf("%d", &year); /* If year%4==0 and year%100==0 then print leap year else if year%400==0 then print leap year else print common year */ (year%4==0 && year%100!=0) ? printf("LEAP YEAR") : (year%400 ==0 ) ? printf("LEAP YEAR") : printf("COMMON YEAR"); return 0; } Output: Enter any year 2004 LEAP YEAR

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Assignment and shorthand assignment operator in C

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• Shorthand assignment

Assignment operator is used to assign value to a variable (memory location). There is a single assignment operator = in C. It evaluates expression on right side of = symbol and assigns evaluated value to left side the variable.

For example consider the below assignment table.

The RHS of assignment operator must be a constant, expression or variable. Whereas LHS must be a variable (valid memory location).

Shorthand assignment operator

C supports a short variant of assignment operator called compound assignment or shorthand assignment. Shorthand assignment operator combines one of the arithmetic or bitwise operators with assignment operator.

For example, consider following C statements.

The above expression a = a + 2 is equivalent to a += 2 .

Similarly, there are many shorthand assignment operators. Below is a list of shorthand assignment operators in C.

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Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.

In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values:

Although the + operator is often used to add together two values, like in the example above, it can also be used to add together a variable and a value, or a variable and another variable:

C divides the operators into the following groups:

• Arithmetic operators
• Assignment operators
• Comparison operators
• Logical operators
• Bitwise operators

Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators are used to perform common mathematical operations.

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 :

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

A list of all assignment operators:

Comparison Operators

Comparison operators are used to compare two values (or variables). This is important in programming, because it helps us to find answers and make decisions.

The return value of a comparison is either 1 or 0 , which means true ( 1 ) or false ( 0 ). These values are known as Boolean values , and you will learn more about them in the Booleans and If..Else chapter.

Comparison operators are used to compare two values.

Note: The return value of a comparison is either true ( 1 ) or false ( 0 ).

In the following example, we use the greater than operator ( > ) to find out if 5 is greater than 3:

A list of all comparison operators:

Logical Operators

You can also test for true or false values with logical operators.

Logical operators are used to determine the logic between variables or values, by combining multiple conditions:

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Fill in the blanks to multiply 10 with 5 , and print the result:

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What exactly are C++ definitions, declarations and assignments?

I tend to use the words define, declare and assign interchangeably but this seems to cause offense to some people. Is this justified? Should I only use the word declare for the first time I assign to a variable? Or is there more to it than that?

• variable-assignment
• terminology

8 Answers 8

A definition is where a value or function is described, i.e. the compiler or programmer is told precisely what it is, e.g.

A declaration tells the compiler, or programmer that the function or variable exists. e.g.

An assignment is when a variable has its value set, usually with the = operator. e.g.

• 3 Actually I would consider "int var;" to be definition, "int var = 5;" is a combined def/ass. Basically, in C, definition is anything that creates space for an object. I'll upvote anyway, maybe you'll change the answer, maybe not, but it's the best to date. –  paxdiablo Commented Mar 23, 2009 at 1:09

Define and declare are similar but assign is very different.

Here I am declaring (or defining) a variable:

Here I am assigning a value to that variable:

Here I am doing both in one statement:

Not all languages support declaration and assignment in one statement:

Some languages require that you assign a value to a variable upon declaration. This requirement allows the compiler or interpreter of the language to infer a type for the variable:

• I'll split a hair -- Python has no "declaration" of any kind. Classes and functions are "defined", variables are created when they assigned. You don't really "declare" variables, since they're just names assigned to objects. –  S.Lott Commented Mar 23, 2009 at 0:58
• That is a good point - from one pedant to another I appreciate the distinction :) –  Andrew Hare Commented Mar 23, 2009 at 1:02
• More nitpicking: Python does not really do any type inference, it's dynamically typed. Type inference is only required when the variable has a type. This is valid Python and illustrates the effects of my point: x = 5 ; x = "str" –  Magnus Hoff Commented Mar 23, 2009 at 13:24
• I suggest either using a different language as an example (Haskell or C# with var), or just remove the "inference"-sentence. Anyway, this is just nitpicking :) –  Magnus Hoff Commented Mar 23, 2009 at 13:24
• 2 -1 for being the accepted answer yet being wrong: declare and define are not at all similar (even if in some languages the distinction is not made). See jheriko's answer below. –  Ian Goldby Commented Nov 4, 2011 at 15:05

It is important to use the correct terminology, otherwise people will not know what you are talking about, or incorrectly assume that you don't know what you are talking about.

These terms often have precise meanings in the standards for various languages. When that is the case they should not be conflated.

In c for instance:

a function may be defined only once (when you say what it does), but it may also be declared before that (when you say what arguments it takes and what type it returns).

likewise a variable is declared when you say what type it is, and this happens only once for each scope. But you may assign a value repeatedly. (Some languages also differentiate between initialization (giving a variable a value at declaration time) and assignment (changing the value later).)

General Role: Definition = declaration + reserved space.

Definition, declaration, and assignment have two cases:

• for Variables.
• for Functions.

For Variables :

-- Definition: To tell the compiler to reserve memory for the variable.

-- Declaration: To tell the compiler that the variable defined in somewhere else.

-- Assignment: To tell the compiler to put the value in the variable.

For Functions :

-- Definition:

-- Declaration: It is just the prototype of the function.

The differences can seem subtle, but they are important. Not every language makes the same distinctions, but in C++ a variable declaration makes the type and name of the variable known to the compiler

A variable definition allocates storage and specifies an initial value for the variable.

You can combine a variable declaration and definition into one statement, as is commonly done.

Declaring a variable inside a function will also set aside memory for the variable, so the following code implicitly defines variable a as a part of its declaration.

Since variable a is automatically defined by the compiler, it will contain whatever value was in the memory location that was allocated for it. This is why it is not safe to use automatic variables until you've explicitly assigned a known value to them.

An assignment takes place any time you change the value of a variable in your program.

A function declaration , similar to the variable declaration, makes the function signature known to the compiler. This allows you to call a function in your source code before it is defined without causing a compiler error.

A function definition specifies the return type, name, parameter list, and instructions for a function. The first three of these elements must match the function declaration. A function must only be defined once in a given program.

You can combine the function decalartion and definition into one, but you must do so before the function is called anywhere in your program.

• I thought a variable declaration assigned storage space. You just get garbage in that space unless you also provide an initialisation, or until you assign a new value. You can only initialise a variable whilst declaring it. –  Artelius Commented Mar 23, 2009 at 1:44
• @Artelius: In most cases declaration includes an implicit definition by the compiler, which makes it appear that declaration assigns storage space. I made a (hopefully) clarifying addition to include this in my answer. Thanks for pointing it out. –  Bill the Lizard Commented Mar 23, 2009 at 13:50
• I voted this answer up as it is correct as I've learned it. If not, I'd really like to know why. The answers above have declaration and definition backwards. –  lakeweb Commented Jan 29, 2017 at 17:31
• i = 1 is an assignment, not a definition. To be a definition (e.g. of a previously declared extern variable in its defining translation unit), it would need the type (and the assignment component is optional). –  underscore_d Commented Jun 29, 2017 at 16:17

It might depend on the language, as has been said. I think it really depends on whether the words are used for things like classes. For most of the data types discussed here, the question might not have much relevance. In C++ (see c++ - What is the difference between a definition and a declaration? ), a class or struct always has precisely one definition but can be declared zero or more times. A class cannot be declared without a definition. So "declared" might be synonymous with "used".

In most languages, simple types such as integers do not need definitions in the manner that classes do.

The correct answer depends on which language you're talking about. Computer languages often have specific terminology, either because of the language specification or the community grown up around the language. COBOL, back when I used it, had a much different terminology than more mainstream languages (in the sense of languages closer to the mainstream of language development, not mainstream business). Forth developed some strange terminology.

If you know English, you can usually get a good idea as to what a word means from its normal meaning, but never count on it too much. The same is true with specific words across languages or language communities.

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