The Verbs of Your Program

Operators are symbols that tell the C compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical transformations on your data (which are called "operands").

1. Arithmetic Operators

Used for basic calculations.

The Integer Division Rule: In C, if you divide two integers, the result is always an integer. Any decimal portion is truncated (simply thrown away). It is not rounded!

• 5 / 2 results in 2.
• To get a decimal result (2.5), at least one side must be a float: 5.0 / 2.

The Modulo Operator (%): This returns the remainder left over after division.

• 10 % 3 = 1 (because 3 goes into 10 three times with 1 left over).
• 10 % 2 = 0 (no remainder).
• Pro Tip: Use modulo to check if a number is even (n % 2 == 0) or odd (n % 2 != 0).

2. Relational Operators (Comparisons)

Used to compare two values. These operators always return a boolean-like result: 1 (True) or 0 (False).

Type Casting: Changing Types on the Fly

Sometimes you need to treat an int as a float temporarily, especially for division.

int totalMarks = 450;
int totalSubjects = 5;
float average = (float)totalMarks / totalSubjects; // Type casting

Expression Evaluation

C follows rules similar to math (PEMDAS). Multiplication and Division are done before Addition and Subtraction.

int res = 10 + 5 * 2; // res is 20, not 30!

Parentheses are Free! Use them liberally. 10 + (5 2) is much clearer than 10 + 5 2. It makes your intent obvious to anyone reading your code.