An Illustrated Guide to Bitwise Operators
Bitwise operations are hard to understand for some beginning programmers. So this post is to explain them easily and unforgettably.
What’s a bit and bit string?
A bit is the smallest unit of information that can be stored or manipulated on a computer. It consists of a single Boolean value (0 or 1).
A bit string is a sequence of bits. It can be used to represent sets or to manipulate binary data.
Bitwise Operations
Bitwise AND (&)
The bitwise AND operator (&
) returns a 1
in each bit position for which the corresponding bits of both operands (input and mask) are 1
s.
Two principles:
a. Y AND 1 = Y
b. Y AND 0 = 0
Therefore, to turn certain bits off, AND
can be used with a 0
.To leave a bit unchanged, AND
is used with a 1
Example: Masking on the higher bits (bits 4,5,6) the lower bits (bits 0,1,2, 3) unchanged.