Arithmetic Operators in C: A Comprehensive Guide

Learn about the fundamental building blocks of mathematical operations in C programming. This guide will cover the various arithmetic operators, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, modulus, increment, and decrement. Understand their usage, precedence, and associativity to effectively perform calculations in your C programs.

Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators in C perform basic math operations. Here are the operators:

Operator	Description
+	Adds two operands.
-	Subtracts second operand from the first.
*	Multiplies both operands.
/	Divides numerator by denominator.
%	Modulus Operator; remainder of division.
++	Increments the integer value by one.
--	Decrements the integer value by one.

Example: Arithmetic Operators

Syntax


#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int op1 = 10;
    int op2 = 3;

    printf("Operand1: %d Operand2: %d\\n\\n", op1, op2);  
    printf("Addition of op1 and op2: %d\\n", op1 + op2);
    printf("Subtraction of op2 from op1: %d\\n", op1 - op2);
    printf("Multiplication of op1 and op2: %d\\n", op1 * op2);
    printf("Division of op1 by op2: %d\\n", op1 / op2);

    return 0;
}

Output


Operand1: 10 Operand2: 3
Addition of op1 and op2: 13
Subtraction of op2 from op1: 7
Multiplication of op1 and op2: 30
Division of op1 by op2: 3

Type Casting

Integer division returns an integer. For floating-point division, at least one operand should be a float.

Syntax


#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int op1 = 10;
    float op2 = 2.5;

    printf("Operand1: %d Operand2: %f\\n", op1, op2);
    printf("Addition of op1 and op2: %f\\n", op1 + op2);
    printf("Subtraction of op2 from op1: %f\\n", op1 - op2);
    printf("Multiplication of op1 and op2: %f\\n", op1 * op2);
    printf("Division of op1 by op2: %f\\n", op1 / op2);

    return 0;
}

Output


Operand1: 10 Operand2: 2.500000
Addition of op1 and op2: 12.500000
Subtraction of op2 from op1: 7.500000
Multiplication of op1 and op2: 25.000000
Division of op1 by op2: 4.000000

Arithmetic Operations with Char Data Type

The char data type can be used in arithmetic operations as it is a subset of int.

Syntax


#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char op1 = 'F';
    int op2 = 3;

    printf("operand1: %c operand2: %d\\n", op1, op2);
    printf("Addition of op1 and op2: %d\\n", op1 + op2);
    printf("Subtraction of op2 from op1: %d\\n", op1 - op2);
    printf("Multiplication of op1 and op2: %d\\n", op1 * op2);
    printf("Division of op1 by op2: %d\\n", op1 / op2);

    return 0;
}

Output


operand1: F operand2: 3
Addition of op1 and op2: 73
Subtraction of op2 from op1: 67
Multiplication of op1 and op2: 210
Division of op1 by op2: 23

Modulo Operator

The modulo operator (%) returns the remainder of a division operation.

Syntax


#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int op1 = 10;
    int op2 = 3;

    printf("Operand1: %d Operand2: %d\\n", op1, op2);
    printf("Modulo of op1 and op2: %d\\n", op1 % op2);

    return 0;
}

Output


Operand1: 10 Operand2: 3
Modulo of op1 and op2: 1

Negation Operator

The "-" symbol can also act as a unary negation operator.

Syntax


#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int op1 = 5;
    int op2 = -op1;

    printf("Operand1: %d Operand2: %d\\n", op1, op2);

    return 0;
}

Output


Operand1: 5 Operand2: -5