Assignment Operators
Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables.
In the example below, we use the assignment operator (=) to assign the value 10 to a variable called x:
Example
int x = 10;
The addition assignment operator (+=) adds a value to a variable:
Example
int x = 10;
x += 5;
A list of all assignment operators:
| Operator | Example | Same As | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|
| = | x = 5 | x = 5 | |
| += | x += 3 | x = x + 3 | |
| -= | x -= 3 | x = x - 3 | |
| *= | x *= 3 | x = x * 3 | |
| /= | x /= 3 | x = x / 3 | |
| %= | x %= 3 | x = x % 3 | |
| &= | x &= 3 | x = x & 3 | |
| |= | x |= 3 | x = x | 3 | |
| ^= | x ^= 3 | x = x ^ 3 | |
| >>= | x >>= 3 | x = x >> 3 | |
| <<= | x <<= 3 | x = x << 3 |
Note: Most assignment operators are just shorter ways of writing code. For example,
x += 5is the same asx = x + 5, but shorter and often easier to read.
Real-Life Example: Tracking Savings
Assignment operators can also be used in real-life scenarios. For example, you can use the += operator to keep track of savings when you add money to an account:
Example
int savings = 100;
savings += 50; // add 50 to savings
System.out.println("Total savings: " + savings);
