C# Operators

In C#, operators are special symbols that are to perform operations on variables and values on operands. Operators are important concepts in any programming language. Operators may take one or multiple operands to perform operations and produce a result. There can be perform multiple operations, such as arithmetic, value assignment , bitwise, and logical computations.

Simple C# Operator Example:

Let us take a simple example to illustrate operators in C# .

Example

using System;



class BasicExample {

    static void Main() {

        int a = 10, b = 20;

        int c = a + b;



        Console.WriteLine("The value of a + b is " + (c)); // Addition

}

}

Output:

The value of a + b is 30.

Types of Operators:

There are several types of operators that may perform different types of operations in C#. Important C# operators are as follows:

• ✅ Arithmetic Operators
• ✅ Relational Operators
• ✅ Logical Operators
• ✅ Bitwise Operators
• ✅ Assignment Operators
• ✅ Unary Operators
• ✅ Ternary or Conditional Operators
• ✅ Null-Coalescing Operators
• ✅ Operator Associativity and Precedence

Here, we will discuss these operators one by one with their types and examples.

1. Arithmetic Operators

In C# , arithmetic operators are mainly used to perform basic mathematical operations (including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc.) on the operands.

C# Arithmetic Operators Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the arithmetic operators in C#.

Example

using System;



class Arithmetic {

    static void Main() //main method

       {

        int a = 10, b = 3; //initializing variables and values



        Console.WriteLine("The value of a + b is " + (a + b)); // Addition

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a - b is " + (a - b)); // Subtraction

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a * b is " + (a * b)); // Multiplication

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a / b is " + (a / b)); // Division

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a % b is " + (a % b)); // Modulus

    }

}

Output:

The value of a + b is 13  

The value of a - b is 7  

The value of a * b is 30  

The value of a / b is 3  

The value of a % b is 1

2. Relational (Comparison) Operators

In C#, a relational operator is mainly utilized to compare two values and returns a boolean value (true or false).

C# Relational Operators Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the relational operator's example in C#.

Example

using System;



class Relational 

{

    static void Main() //main method

    {

        int a = 15, b = 30; //initializing variables and values



        Console.WriteLine("The value of a == b is " + (a == b)); // Equal to operator

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a != b is " + (a != b)); // Not equal to operator

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a > b is " + (a > b));   // Greater than operator

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a < b is " + (a < b));   // Less than operator

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a >= b is " + (a >= b)); // Greater than or equal to

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a <= b is " + (a <= b)); // Less than or equal to operator

    }

}

Output:

The value of a == b is False  

The value of a != b is True  

The value of a > b is False  

The value of a < b is True  

The value of a >= b is False  

The value of a <= b is True

3. Logical Operators

In C#, logical operators are utilized to combine more than one condition and return a boolean result.

C# Logical Operators Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the logical operator in C#.

Example

using System;



class Logical 

{

    static void Main() //main method

    {

        bool x = true, y = false; //initializing Boolean variable and value



        Console.WriteLine("The value of x && y is " + (x && y)); // Logical AND

        Console.WriteLine("The value of x || y is " + (x || y)); // Logical OR

        Console.WriteLine("The value of !x is " + (!x)); // Logical NOT

    }

}

Output:

The value of x && y is False  

The value of x || y is True  

The value of !x is False

4. Bitwise Operators

In C#, bitwise operators operate at the binary level to modify bits of a number.

C# Bitwise Operators Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the bitwise operators in C#.

Example

using System;



class Bitwise 

{

    static void Main() //main function

    {

        int a = 10, b = 15; //initializing variables and values



        Console.WriteLine("The value of a & b is " + (a & b)); // Bitwise AND

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a | b is " + (a | b)); // Bitwise OR

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a ^ b is " + (a ^ b)); // Bitwise XOR

        Console.WriteLine("The value of ~a is " + (~a)); // Bitwise Complement

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a << b is " + (a << 1)); //Bitwise Left Shift

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a >> b is " + (a >> 1)); //Bitwise Right Shift

    }

}

Output:

The value of a & b is 10

The value of a | b is 15

The value of a ^ b is 5

The value of ~a is -11

The value of a << b is 20

The value of a >> b is 5

5. Assignment Operators

In C#, the assignment operators are mainly used to assign values to a variable and perform operations simultaneously. The most commonly used operator is the assignment operator (=). It allows us to modify the value stored in the variable.

C# Assignment Operators Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the assignment operator in C#.

Example

using System;



class Program 

{

    static void Main() //main function

    {

        int a = 10, b = 6; //initializing variables and values

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a is " + (a)); //using Assignment Operator 

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a+=b is " + (a += b));  //using Add and Assignment Operator

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a-=b is " + (a -= b)); //using Subtract and Assignment Operator

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a*=b is " + (a *= b)); //using Multiply and Assignment Operator

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a/=b is " + (a /= b)); //using Divide and Assignment Operator

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a%=b is " + (a %= b)); //using Modulus and Assignment Operator



    }

}

Output:

The value of a is 10

The value of a+=b is 16

The value of a-=b is 10

The value of a*=b is 60

The value of a/=b is 10

The value of a%=b is 4

6. Unary Operators

In C#, unary operators perform operations on a single operand.

C# Unary Operators Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the unary operator in C#.

Example

using System;



class Unary 

{

    static void Main() //main method

    {

        int a = 10; //initialize variable and value



        Console.WriteLine("The value of +a is " + (+a)); // Unary plus

        Console.WriteLine("The value of -a is " + (-a)); // Unary minus

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a after a++ is " + (a++)); // Increment

        

        Console.WriteLine("The value of a after a-- is " + (--a)); // Decrement

    }

}

Output:

The value of +a is 10

The value of -a is -10

The value of a after a++ is 10

The value of a after a-- is 10

7. Ternary or Conditional Operator

In C#, the ternary operator is an alternative to if-else statements. It mainly performs the operations on three operands. It is conditional-based operator.

Syntax:

It has the following syntax:

(Condition) ? Expression_a : Expression_b;

Here, two conditions are occurred:

• ✅ If the given condition is true, Expression_a is executed and provides the appropriate result.
• ✅ If the given condition is false, Expression_b is executed and provides the appropriate result.

C# Ternary or Conditional Operator Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the ternary and conditional operator in C#.

Example

using System;



class Ternary 

{

    static void Main() //main method

    {

        int a = 15, b = 20;

        int min = (a < b) ? a : b;  // If a < b, min = a, otherwise min = b



        Console.WriteLine("The minimum value is " + min);

    }

}

Output:

The minimum value is 15

8. Null Coalescing Operators

In C#, null coalescing operators provide a default value when dealing with null values.

Null Coalescing

Null Coalescing Assignment

C# Null Coalescing Operators Example:

Let us take an example to illustrate the null and coalescing operator in C#.

Example

using System;



class Program {

    static void Main() {

        int? num = null;

        int result = num ?? 100;  // If num is null, assign 100



        Console.WriteLine("The result is " + result);



        int? x = null;

        x ??= 50;  // Assigns 50 to x if it is null



        Console.WriteLine("The value of x is " + x);

    }

}

Output:

The result is 100  

The value of x is 50

9. Operator Associativity and Precedence

In C#, operator precedence is the rule which define the evaluation order of different operators in an expression. Operator precedence determines the order of evaluation for different operators, while associativity describes the order between operators of the same precedence, telling whether to evaluate from the left or right.

1. Operator Precedence

Operators with higher precedence are evaluated first. For example, in the expression:

Example

int result = 10 + 5 * 2;

Console.WriteLine(result);

Output:

Here, multiplication () has higher precedence than addition (+), so 5 2 is calculated first, and then 10 is added.

2. Operator Associativity

If operators are at the same precedence level, their associativity defines evaluation order:

• ✅ Left-to-Right Associativity: Operators like +, -, *, /, %, &&, ||, ==, etc., are evaluated from left to right.
• ✅ Right-to-Left Associativity: Operators like = (assignment), +=, -=, ??=, and the ternary operator (?:) are evaluated from right to left.

Example of Operator Precedence and Associativity

Example

int result = 10 - 2 * 3 + 4;

Console.WriteLine(result);

Output:

Since * has higher precedence than - and +, it is evaluated first.

Example of Right-to-Left Associativity

Example

int a = 5;

int b = 10;

int result = a = b = 20; // Right to Left evaluation

Console.WriteLine(result);

Output:

Here, b = 20 is evaluated first, then a = 20, and finally result = 20.

C# Operators Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. What will be the output of the following C# code?
Example
Copy
int a = 5, b = 10, c;

c = a++ + --b;

Console.WriteLine(c);
Try it Yourself

1. What will be the output of the following C# code?
Example
Copy
int a = 10;

int b = 20;

int c = 30;

bool result = (a < b) && (b > c) || (a < c);

Console.WriteLine(result);
Try it Yourself

• ✅ True
• ✅ False
• ✅ Compilation Error
• ✅ Runtime Error

1. What is the output of the following code?
Example
Copy
int? x = null;

int y = x ?? 50;

Console.WriteLine(y);
Try it Yourself

• ✅ null
• ✅ Compilation Error

1. Which of the following statements is correct about the ??= operator in C#?

• ✅ It assigns the right operand to the left operand only if the left operand is null.
• ✅ It always assigns the right operand to the left operand.
• ✅ It checks if two operands are equal.
• ✅ It throws an exception if the left operand is null.

1. What will be the output of the following bitwise operation?
Example
Copy
int x = 5 & 3;

Console.WriteLine(x);
Try it Yourself