Operator Precedence is ordering of operators according of its priority. Each operator have different priority level. For example, in a expression a = b + c / d; , operator ‘/’ has the highest precedence and operator ‘=’ has the lowest precedence. So, ‘/’ will be operated first, ‘+’ will be operated after that and lastly ‘=’ will be operated.
There are some operators whose precedence is same. If such operators are in same expression, then it will be evaluated according to its associativity. It can either be from left or from right. This is known as Operator Associativity. For example, in a expression a = b + c – d; , operator ‘+’ and ‘-‘ have same precedence, so, it will be evaluated according to its accociativity which is left to right in case of the additive associativity, So, operator ‘+’ will be operated before ‘-‘.
Operators according to its precedence (Highest priority to lowest priority) with their associativity is given below:
- Primary Operators
- Unary Operators
- Multiplicative Operators
- Additive Operators
- Shift Operators
- Relational and Type Operators
- Equality Operators
- Bitwise Operators
- Logical Operators
- Conditional Operator
- Assignment Operator
1. Primary Operators
Primary Operators have the highest precedence in C# programming. They have left to right associativity. Some of these operators are ., ->, ( ), [ ], ++ (as postfix), — (as postfix), new, typeof, default, delegate, checked, unchecked etc.
2. Unary Operators
Unary Operators are operators that work only with one operand. These operators have right to left associativity. Some of there operators are + (unary), – (unary), !, ~, ++ (prefix), — (prefix) etc.
3. Multiplicative Operators
Multiplicative Operators work with multiplication or division. They have left to right associativity. Examples of these operators are *, / and %.
4. Additive Operators
Additive Operators work with addition or subtraction. They have left to right associativity. Examples of these operators are + and -. These operators can also be used for delegate combination or removal and ‘+’ can also be used for string concatenation.
5. Shift Operators
Shift Operators are used to perform bitwise shift. They work with binary values. They have left to right associativity. Examples of these operators are <<, >>.
6. Relational and Type Operators
Relational and Type operators are used to comparing and type testing two variables.They have left to right associativity. Examples of relational and type operators are <, <=, >, >=, is and as.
7. Equality Operators
Equality Operators are used to check if two operands are equal or not. They have left to right associativity. Examples of equality operators are == and !=.
8. Bitwise Operators
Bitwise Operators works in bit level and returns result according to boolean result. They have left to right associativity. There are three bitwise operators and each of them have different priority level. They are listed below according to their precedence:
- Bitwise AND : &
- Bitwise XOR : ^
- Bitwise OR : |
9. Logical Operators
Logical Operators compares two operands and returns result according to boolean result. They have left to right associativity. There are two logical operators and both of them have different priority level. They are listed below according to their precedence:
- Logical AND : &&
- Logical OR : ||
10. Conditional Operator
Conditional Operator selects a value between two values according to boolean result of a condition. They have right to left associativity. ‘?:’ is conditional operator.
11. Assignment Operator
Assignment Operator is used to store a value to a variable from right operand to left. They have right to left associativity. Examples of assignment operators are = and any compound assignments (+=, -=, /=, *=,……) etc.
| Operators | Associativity |
|---|---|
| Primary Operators ., ->, ( ), [ ], ++ (as postfix), — (as postfix), new, typeof, default, delegate, checked, unchecked |
Left to Right |
| Unary Operators + (unary), – (unary), !, ~, ++ (prefix), — (prefix) |
Right to left |
| Multiplicative Operators *, / and % |
Left to Right |
| Additive Operators + and – |
Left to Right |
| Shift Operators <<, >> |
Left to Right |
| Relational and Type operators <, <=, >, >=, is and as |
Left to Right |
| Equality Operators == and != |
Left to Right |
| Bitwise AND Operator & |
Left to Right |
| Bitwise XOR Operator ^ |
Left to Right |
| Bitwise OR Operator | |
Left to Right |
| Logical AND Operator && |
Left to Right |
| Logical OR Operator || |
Left to Right |
| Conditional Operator ?: |
Right to Left |
| Assignment Operator = and any compound assignments (+=, -=, /=, *=,…….) |
Right to Left |