Logical Right Shift vs. Arithmetic Right Shift
- Logical right shift: In logical right shift, vacant leftmost positions are filled with zeros. It’s commonly used for unsigned integers.
- Arithmetic right shift: In arithmetic right shift, vacant leftmost positions are filled with the sign bit. It’s used for signed integers to preserve the sign of the number.
Let’s summarize the differences between bitwise logical right shift (>>
) and bitwise arithmetic right shift (>>
) in a table:
Aspect | Logical Right Shift (unsigned integers) | Arithmetic Right Shift (signed integers) |
---|---|---|
Sign Preservation | Does not preserve sign; fills vacant leftmost positions with zeros. | Preserves sign; replicates sign bit to fill vacant leftmost positions. |
Example | 8 >> 1 results in 4 (Binary: 0000 0100 ) | -8 >> 1 results in -4 (Binary: 1111 1100 ) |
Division by Powers of 2 | Performs unsigned division by 2^n . | Performs signed division by 2^n . |
Implementation in Programming | Performs logical right shift, filling vacant positions with zeros. | Performs arithmetic right shift, preserving the sign bit. |
Right Shift Operator (>>) in Programming
Right shift operator (>>), commonly found in programming languages, including C, C++, Java, and others, is used to shift the bits of a number to the right by a specified number of positions. Each shift moves all bits in the operand to the right by the number of positions indicated by the right operand.
Table of Content
- Right Shift Operator (>>) Definition
- Right Shift Operator (>>) Syntax
- Right Shift Operator (>>) Examples
- Right Shift Operator (>>) with Signed Integers
- Right Shift Operator (>>) with Unsigned Integers
- Right Shift Operator (>>) with Signed vs. Unsigned Integers
- Logical Right Shift
- Arithmetic Right Shift
- Logical Right Shift vs. Arithmetic Right Shift
- Right Shift Operator (>>) Optimization Techniques
- Bit Manipulation Hacks with Right Shift Operator
This comprehensive guide aims to provide a deep understanding of bitwise right shift operators, from the foundational principles to advanced optimization strategies.
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