The C language supports all the basic arithmetic operators such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc.
The following table shows all the basic arithmetic operators along with their descriptions.
| Operator | Description | Example(where a and b are variables with some integer value) |
|---|---|---|
+ | adds two operands (values) | a+b |
- | subtract second operands from first | a-b |
* | multiply two operands | a*b |
/ | divide numerator by the denominator, i.e. divide the operand on the left side with the operand on the right side | a/b |
% | This is the modulus operator, it returns the remainder of the division of two operands as the result | a%b |
++ | This is the Increment operator – increases integer value by one. This operator needs only a single operand. | a++ or ++a |
-- | This is the Decrement operator – decreases integer value by one. This operator needs only a single operand. | --b or b-- |
Example: Basic Arithmetic Operators
Let’s see a code example to understand the use of the basic arithmetic operators in C programs.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int a = 50, b = 23, result;
// addition
result = a+b;
printf("Addition of a & b = %d \n",result);
// subtraction
result = a-b;
printf("Subtraction of a & b = %d \n",result);
// multiplication
result = a*b;
printf("Multiplication of a & b = %d \n",result);
// division
result = a/b;
printf("Division of a & b = %d \n",result);
return 0;
}Output
Addition of a & b = 73, Subtraction of a & b = 27, Multiplication of a & b = 1150, Division of a & b = 2,
Example: Using Modulus Operator (%)
The modulus operator returns the remainder value after the division of the provided values.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int a = 23, b = 20, result;
// Using Modulus operator
result = a%b;
printf("result = %d",result);
return 0;
}Output
result = 3
Example: Using Increment and Decrement Operators
The increment operator is used to increase the value of any numeric value by 1, whereas the decrement operator is used to decrease the value of any numeric value by 1.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int a = 10, b = 20, c, d;
/*
Using increment operator
*/
printf("Incrementing value of a = %d \n", ++a);
/*
Using decrement operator
*/
printf("Decrementing value of b = %d \n", --b);
// first print value of a, then decrement a
printf("Decrementing value of a = %d \n", a--);
printf("Value of a = %d \n", a);
// first print value of b, then increment b
printf("Incrementing value of b = %d \n", b++);
printf("Value of b = %d \n", b);
return 0;
}Output
Incrementing value of a = 11, Decrementing value of b = 19,Decrementing value of a = 11, Value of a = 10, Incrementing value of b = 19, Value of b = 20
In the code example above, we have used the increment operator as ++a and b++, while the decrement operator as --b and a--.
When we use the increment and decrement operator as a prefix (means before the operand), then first the increment operation is done and that value is used, like in the first two printf() functions, we get the updated values of a and b.
Whereas when we use the increment and decrement operators as postfix (means after the operand), then first the larger expression is evaluated which is printf() in this case and then the value of the operand is updated.