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Operators in computer programming

Main Article: Operators

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Programming languages typically support a set of operators: constructs which behave generally like functions, but which differ syntactically or semantically from usual functions. Common simple examples include arithmetic (addition with +), comparison (with >), and logical operations (such as AND or &&). More involved examples include assignment (usually = or :=), Field (computer science) | field access in a record or object (usually .), and the scope resolution operator (often ::). Languages usually define a set of built-in operators, and in some cases allow user-defined operators.

Snippet from Wikipedia: Operator (computer programming)

In computer programming, an operator is a programming language construct that provides functionality that may not be possible to define as a user-defined function (e.g. sizeof in C) or has syntax different from that of a function (e.g. infix addition as in a+b). Like other programming language concepts, operator has a generally accepted, although debatable, meaning among practitioners.

Some operators are represented with symbols – characters typically not allowed for a function identifier – to allow for presentation that is more familiar looking than typical function syntax. For example, a function that tests for greater-than could be named gt, but many languages provide an infix symbolic operator so that code looks more familiar. For example, this:

if gt(x, y) then return

Can be:

if x > y then return

Some languages allow a language-defined operator to be overridden with user-defined behavior and some allow for user-defined operator symbols.

Operators may also differ semantically from functions. For example, short-circuit Boolean operations evaluate later arguments only if earlier ones are not false.

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