Java and Algorithmic Thinking for the Complete Beginner

Chapter 7 Operators

7.1 The Value Assignment Operator

The most commonly used operator in Java is the value assignment operator ( = ). For example, the following Java statement assigns a value of 5 to variable x.

x = 5;

As you read in Chapter 5, this is equivalent to the left arrow used in flowcharts.

.

Probably the left arrow used in a flowchart is more convenient and clearer than the ( = ) sign because it visually illustrates that the value or the result of an expression on the right is assigned to a variable on the left.

It's important to note that the ( = ) sign is not equivalent to the one used in mathematics. In mathematics, the expression ...