11.1 Bit Operators

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Bit, or bitwise, operators allow the programmer to work on individual bits. For example, a short integer holds 16 bits (on most machines). The bit operators treat each of these as an independent bit. By contrast, an add operator treats the 16 bits as a single 16-bit number.

Bit operators allow you to set, clear, test, and perform other operations on bits. The bit operators are listed in Table 11-2.

Table 11-2. Bit operators

Operator	Meaning
&	Bitwise AND
	Bitwise OR
^	Bitwise exclusive OR
~	Complement
<<	Shift left
>>	Shift right

These operators work on any integer or character-data type.

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