panel 1: bitwise operations operate one bit at a time

The results can be surprising when you write them in base 10:

8 & 3 = 0

but in binary it makes more sense:

1000 & 0011 = 0000

next: a bunch of panels listing all of the operations

• &: Bitwise and: the result is 1 if BOTH bits are 1
• |: Bitwise or: the result is 1 if EITHER bit is a 1
• ^: Bitwise xor: the result is 1 if EXACTLY ONE bit is a 1
• ~: Bitwise not: FLIP all the bits
• <<: Left shift: add 0s to the end. << n is like multiplying by 2^n
• >>: Right shift: chop bits off the end. >> n is like dividing by 2^n.

panel: there are actually two right shifts

unsigned right shift: 253 >> 1 = 126

always pad on the left with a 0: 11111101 -> _0_1111110

signed right shift: -3 >> 1 = -2

if the number is negative, pad on the left with 1 instead of a 0: 11111101 -> _1_1111110

In some languages unsigned right shift is >>>. In other languages, both right shifts are >> and the integer’s type determines which is used.