The Java programming language also provides operators that perform bitwise and bit shift operations on integral types. The operators discussed in this section are less commonly used. Therefore, their coverage is brief; the intent is to simply make you aware that these operators exist.

The unary bitwise complement operator "~" inverts a bit pattern; it can be applied to any of the integral types, making every "0" a "1" and every "1" a "0". For example, a byte contains 8 bits; applying this operator to a value whose bit pattern is "00000000" would change its pattern to "11111111".

The signed left shift operator "<<" shifts a bit pattern to the left, and the signed right shift operator ">>" shifts a bit pattern to the right. The bit pattern is given by the left-hand operand, and the number of positions to shift by the right-hand operand. The unsigned right shift operator ">>>" shifts a zero into the leftmost position, while the leftmost position after ">>" depends on sign extension.

The bitwise & operator performs a bitwise AND operation.

The bitwise ^ operator performs a bitwise exclusive OR operation.

The bitwise | operator performs a bitwise inclusive OR operation.

The following program, BitDemo, uses the bitwise AND operator to print the number "2" to standard output.

class BitDemo { 
    public static void main(String[] args) { 
        int bitmask = 0x000F; 
        int val = 0x2222; 
        // prints "2" 
        System.out.println(val & bitmask);
    }
}

The following quick reference summarizes the operators supported by the Java programming language.

Simple Assignment Operator

= Simple assignment operator

Arithmetic Operators

+ Additive operator (also used 
        for String concatenation) 
- Subtraction operator 
* Multiplication operator 
/ Division operator 
% Remainder operator

Unary Operators

+ Unary plus operator; indicates 
        positive value (numbers are 
        positive without this, however) 
- Unary minus operator; negates 
        an expression 
++ Increment operator; increments 
        a value by 1 
-- Decrement operator; decrements 
        a value by 1 
! Logical complement operator; 
        inverts the value of a boolean

Equality and Relational Operators

== Equal to 
!= Not equal to 
> Greater than 
>= Greater than or equal to 
< Less than 
<= Less than or equal to

Conditional Operators

&& Conditional-AND 
|| Conditional-OR 
?: Ternary (shorthand for 
        if-then-else statement) 

Type Comparison Operator

instanceof Compares an object to 
                a specified type 

Bitwise and Bit Shift Operators

~ Unary bitwise complement 
<< Signed left shift 
>> Signed right shift 
>>> Unsigned right shift 
& Bitwise AND 
^ Bitwise exclusive OR 
| Bitwise inclusive OR