Java Assignment Operators

Java Assignment Operators are used to optionally perform an action with given operands and assign the result back to given variable (left operand).

The syntax of any Assignment Operator with operands is

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operand1 operator_symbol operand2

In this tutorial, we will learn about different Assignment Operators available in Java programming language and go through each of these Assignment Operations in detail, with the help of examples.

Operator Symbol – Example – Description

The following table specifies symbol, example, and description for each of the Assignment Operator in Java.

Assignment Operation	Operator Symbol	Example	Description
Simple Assignment	=	x = 2	Assign x with 2.
Addition Assignment	+=	x += 3	Add 3 to the value of x and assign the result to x.
Subtraction Assignment	-=	x -= 3	Subtract 3 from x and assign the result to x.
Multiplication Assignment	*=	x *= 3	Multiply x with 3 and assign the result to x.
Division Assignment	/=	x /= 3	Divide x with 3 and assign the quotient to x.
Remainder Assignment	%=	x %= 3	Divide x with 3 and assign the remainder to x.
Bitwise AND Assignment	&=	x &= 3	Perform x & 3 and assign the result to x.
Bitwise OR Assignment	\|=	x \|= 3	Perform x \| 3 and assign the result to x.
Bitwise-exclusive-OR Assignment	^=	x ^= 3	Perform x ^ 3 and assign the result to x.
Left-shift Assignment	<<=	x <<= 3	Left-shift the value of x by 3 places and assign the result to x.
Right-shift Assignment	>>=	x >>= 3	Right-shift the value of x by 3 places and assign the result to x.

Simple Assignment

In the following example, we assign a value of 2 to x using Simple Assignment Operator.

Main.java

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x;
        //simple assignment
        x = 2;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 2

Addition Assignment

In the following example, we add 3 to x and assign the result to x using Addition Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 2;
        //addition assignment
        x += 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 5

Subtraction Assignment

In the following example, we subtract 3 from x and assign the result to x using Subtraction Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 2;
        //subtraction assignment
        x -= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : -1

Multiplication Assignment

In the following example, we multiply 3 to x and assign the result to x using Multiplication Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 2;
        //multiplication assignment
        x *= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 6

Division Assignment

In the following example, we divide x by 3 and assign the quotient to x using Division Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 7;
        //division assignment
        x /= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 2

Remainder Assignment

In the following example, we divide x by 3 and assign the remainder to x using Remainder Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 7;
        //remainder assignment
        x %= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 1

Bitwise AND Assignment

In the following example, we do bitwise AND operation between x and 3 and assign the result to x using Bitwise AND Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 10;
        //bitwise AND assignment
        x &= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 2

Bitwise OR Assignment

In the following example, we do bitwise OR operation between x and 3 and assign the result to x using Bitwise OR Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 10;
        //bitwise OR assignment
        x |= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 11

Bitwise XOR Assignment

In the following example, we do bitwise XOR operation between x and 3 and assign the result to x using Bitwise XOR Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 10;
        //bitwise XOR assignment
        x ^= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 9

Left-shift Assignment

In the following example, we left-shift x by 3 places and assign the result to x using Left-shift Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 10;
        //left shift assignment
        x <<= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 80

Right-shift Assignment

In the following example, we right-shift x by 3 places and assign the result to x using Right-shift Assignment Operator.

main.cpp

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public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int x = 10;
        //right shift assignment
        x >>= 3;
        System.out.println("x : " + x);
    }
}

Output

x : 1

Conclusion

In this Java Tutorial, we learned what Assignment Operators are, and how to use them in Java programs, with the help of examples.

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Java Assignment Operators