Unary operators in C/C++

• Difficulty Level : Basic
• Last Updated : 23 Nov, 2020

Unary operator: are operators that act upon a single operand to produce a new value.

Types of unary operators:

1. unary minus(-)
2. increment(++)
3. decrement(- -)
4. NOT(!)
5. Addressof operator(&)
6. sizeof()

1. unary minus
   The minus operator changes the sign of its argument. A positive number becomes negative, and a negative number becomes positive.

   int a = 10;int b = -a;  // b = -10

   unary minus is different from subtraction operator, as subtraction requires two operands.

2. increment
   It is used to increment the value of the variable by 1. The increment can be done in two ways:
   1. prefix increment
      In this method, the operator preceeds the operand (e.g., ++a). The value of operand will be altered before it is used.

       

       

      int a = 1;int b = ++a;  // b = 2

   2. postfix increment
      In this method, the operator follows the operand (e.g., a++). The value operand will be altered after it is used.

      int a = 1;int b = a++;   // b = 1int c = a;     // c = 2

3. decrement
   It is used to decrement the value of the variable by 1. The decrement can be done in two ways:
   1. prefix decrement
      In this method, the operator preceeds the operand (e.g., – -a). The value of operand will be altered before it is used.

      int a = 1;int b = --a;  // b = 0

   2. posfix decrement
      In this method, the operator follows the operand (e.g., a- -). The value of operand will be altered after it is used.

      int a = 1;int b = a--;   // b = 1int c = a;     // c = 0

   C++ program for combination of prefix and postfix operations:

    

    

    

   // C++ program to demonstrate working of unary increment

   // and decrement operators

   #include <iostream>

   using namespace std;

     

   int main()

   {

       // Post increment

       int a = 1;

       cout << "a value: " << a << endl;

       int b = a++;

       cout << "b value after a++ : " << b << endl;

       cout << "a value after a++ : " << a << endl;

     

       // Pre increment

       a = 1;

       cout << "a value:" << a << endl;

       b = ++a;

       cout << "b value after ++a : " << b << endl;

       cout << "a value after ++a : "<< a << endl;

     

       // Post decrement

       a = 5;

       cout << "a value before decrement: " << a << endl;

       b = a--;

       cout << "b value after a-- : " << b << endl;

       cout << "a value after a-- : " << a << endl;

     

       // Pre decrement

       a = 5;

       cout << "a value: "<< a<<endl;

       b = --a;

       cout << "b value after --a : " << b << endl;

       cout << "a value after --a : " << a << endl;

     

       return 0;

   }

   Output:

   a value: 1b value after a++ : 1a value after a++ : 2a value:1b value after ++a : 2a value after ++a : 2a value before decrement: 5b value after a-- : 5a value after a-- : 4a value: 5b value after --a : 4a value after --a : 4

   The above program shows how the postfix and prefix works.

4. NOT(!): It is used to reverse the logical state of its operand. If a condition is true, then Logical NOT operator will make it false.

   If x is true, then !x is falseIf x is false, then !x is true

5. Addressof operator(&): It gives an address of a variable. It is used to return the memory address of a variable. These addresses returned by the address-of operator are known as pointers because they “point” to the variable in memory.

   & gives an address on variable nint a;int *ptr;ptr = &a; // address of a is copied to the location ptr.

6. sizeof(): This operator returns the size of its operand, in bytes. The sizeof operator always precedes its operand.The operand is an expression, or it may be a cast.

    

    

    

   #include <iostream>

   using namespace std;

     

   int main()

   {

      float n = 0;

      cout << "size of n: " << sizeof(n);

      return 1;

   }

   Output:

   size of n: 4

7.