C Pocket Reference

Arithmetic Operators

Table 1-9. The arithmetic operators

Operator	Meaning	Example	Result
*	Multiplication	x * y	The product of x and y.
/	Division	x / y	The quotient of x by y.
%	Modulo division	x % y	The remainder of the division x / y.
+	Addition	x + y	The sum of x and y.
-	Subtraction	x - y	The difference of x and y.
+ (unary)	Positive sign	+x	The value of x.
- (unary)	Negative sign	-x	The arithmetic negation of x.
++	Increment	++x x++	x is incremented (x=x+1). The prefixed operator (++x) increments the operand before it is evaluated; the postfixed operator (x++) increments the operand after it is evaluated.
--	Decrement	--x x--	x is decremented (x=x-1). The prefixed operator (--x) decrements the operand before it is evaluated; the postfixed operator (x--) decrements the operand after it is evaluated.

The operands of arithmetic operators may have any arithmetic type. Only the % operator requires integer operands.

The usual arithmetic conversions may be performed on the operands. For example, 3.0/2 is equivalent to 3.0/2.0. The result has the type of the operands after such conversion.

Note that the result of division with integer operands is also an integer! For example:

6 / 4       //  Result:  1 
6 % 4       //  Result:  2 
6.0 / 4.0   //  Result: 1.5

The increment operator ++ (and analogously, the decrement operator --) can be placed either before or after its operand. A variable x is incremented (i. e., increased by 1) both by ++x ...