6/16/24, 11:51 AM Assignment Operators in C

Assignment Operators in C
In C language, the assignment operator stores a certain value in an already declared
variable. A variable in C can be assigned the value in the form of a literal, another
variable, or an expression.

The value to be assigned forms the right-hand operand, whereas the variable to be
assigned should be the operand to the left of the "=" symbol, which is defined as a
simple assignment operator in C.

In addition, C has several augmented assignment operators.

The following table lists the assignment operators supported by the C language −

Operator Description Example

C = A + B will
Simple assignment operator. Assigns values
= assign the value of
from right side operands to left side operand
A + B to C

Add AND assignment operator. It adds the right

C += A is equivalent
+= operand to the left operand and assign the
to C = C + A
result to the left operand.

Subtract AND assignment operator. It subtracts

C -= A is equivalent
-= the right operand from the left operand and
to C = C - A
assigns the result to the left operand.

Multiply AND assignment operator. It multiplies

C *= A is equivalent
*= the right operand with the left operand and
to C = C * A
assigns the result to the left operand.

Divide AND assignment operator. It divides the

C /= A is equivalent
/= left operand with the right operand and assigns
to C = C / A
the result to the left operand.

Modulus AND assignment operator. It takes C %= A is

%= modulus using two operands and assigns the equivalent to C = C
result to the left operand. %A

C <<= 2 is same as
<<= Left shift AND assignment operator.
C = C << 2

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_assignment_operators.htm 1/6
6/16/24, 11:51 AM Assignment Operators in C

C >>= 2 is same as
>>= Right shift AND assignment operator.
C = C >> 2

C &= 2 is same as C
&= Bitwise AND assignment operator.
=C&2

C ^= 2 is same as C
^= Bitwise exclusive OR and assignment operator.
=C^2

C |= 2 is same as C
|= Bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operator.
=C|2

Simple Assignment Operator (=)

The = operator is one of the most frequently used operators in C. As per the ANSI C
standard, all the variables must be declared in the beginning. Variable declaration
after the first processing statement is not allowed.

You can declare a variable to be assigned a value later in the code, or you can
initialize it at the time of declaration.

You can use a literal, another variable, or an expression in the assignment

statement.

int x = 10; // declaration with initialization

int y; // declaration
y = 20; // assignment later
int z = x + y; // assign an expression
int d = 3, f = 5; // definition and initializing d and f.
char x = 'x'; // the variable x has the value 'x'.

Once a variable of a certain type is declared, it cannot be assigned a value of any

other type. In such a case the C compiler reports a type mismatch error.

In C, the expressions that refer to a memory location are called "lvalue" expressions.
A lvalue may appear as either the left-hand or right-hand side of an assignment.

On the other hand, the term rvalue refers to a data value that is stored at some
address in memory. A rvalue is an expression that cannot have a value assigned to it
which means an rvalue may appear on the right-hand side but not on the left-hand
side of an assignment.

Variables are lvalues and so they may appear on the left-hand side of an
assignment. Numeric literals are rvalues and so they may not be assigned and

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_assignment_operators.htm 2/6
6/16/24, 11:51 AM Assignment Operators in C

cannot appear on the left-hand side. Take a look at the following valid and invalid
statements −

int g = 20; // valid statement

10 = 20; // invalid statement

Augmented Assignment Operators

In addition to the = operator, C allows you to combine arithmetic and bitwise
operators with the = symbol to form augmented or compound assignment operator.
The augmented operators offer a convenient shortcut for combining arithmetic or
bitwise operation with assignment.

Example 1

For example, the expression "a += b" has the same effect of performing "a + b" first
and then assigning the result back to the variable "a".

#include <stdio.h>

int main(){

int a = 10;
int b = 20;

a += b;
printf("a: %d", a);

return 0;
}

Output

Run the code and check its output −

a: 30

Example 2

Similarly, the expression "a <<= b" has the same effect of performing "a << b" first
and then assigning the result back to the variable "a".

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_assignment_operators.htm 3/6
6/16/24, 11:51 AM Assignment Operators in C

#include <stdio.h>

int main(){

int a = 60;
int b = 2;

a <<= b;
printf("a: %d", a);

return 0;
}

Output

Run the code and check its output −

a: 240

Example 3

Here is a C program that demonstrates the use of assignment operators in C −

#include <stdio.h>

int main(){

int a = 21;
int c ;

c = a;
printf("Line 1 - = Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c += a;
printf("Line 2 - += Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c -= a;
printf("Line 3 - -= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c *= a;
printf("Line 4 - *= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_assignment_operators.htm 4/6
6/16/24, 11:51 AM Assignment Operators in C

c /= a;
printf("Line 5 - /= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c = 200;
c %= a;
printf("Line 6 - %%= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c <<= 2;
printf("Line 7 - <<= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c >>= 2;
printf("Line 8 - >>= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c &= 2;
printf("Line 9 - &= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c ^= 2;
printf("Line 10 - ^= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c |= 2;
printf("Line 11 - |= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

return 0;
}

Output

When you compile and execute the above program, it will produce the following
result −

Line 1 - = Operator Example, Value of c = 21

Line 2 - += Operator Example, Value of c = 42
Line 3 - -= Operator Example, Value of c = 21
Line 4 - *= Operator Example, Value of c = 441
Line 5 - /= Operator Example, Value of c = 21
Line 6 - %= Operator Example, Value of c = 11
Line 7 - <<= Operator Example, Value of c = 44
Line 8 - >>= Operator Example, Value of c = 11
Line 9 - &= Operator Example, Value of c = 2

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_assignment_operators.htm 5/6
6/16/24, 11:51 AM Assignment Operators in C

Line 10 - ^= Operator Example, Value of c = 0

Line 11 - |= Operator Example, Value of c = 2

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_assignment_operators.htm 6/6