Special Edition Using Java 2 Standard Edition

Bitwise Operators

Depending on the types of programs you write, the bitwise operators are either very important or completely unimportant to you. If you write typical business applications, you will find little need to employ these operators. However, if you develop engineering applications that interface with hardware systems or binary files, the opposite is likely true. When you need a bitwise operator, it is rarely the case that you can substitute any other operation to easily reproduce the same results. However, most of the work you do probably won't put you in this position in the first place.

Bitwise operators work at the fundamental level of how values are stored in a computer. This is probably remedial, but, for completeness, it should ...