Swift Bitwise Operators

Swift Bitwise Operators

In Swift, bitwise operators are used to manipulate individual bits within integers. These operators are essential for tasks such as low-level programming, optimizing performance, and working with binary data. Bitwise operations allow you to perform AND, OR, XOR, and other operations directly on the binary representation of numbers.

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Bitwise Operators in Swift

Here is a list of bitwise operators available in Swift:

Operator	Description	Example
&	Bitwise AND	Sets each bit to 1 if both bits are 1
|	Bitwise OR	Sets each bit to 1 if one of the bits is 1
^	Bitwise XOR	Sets each bit to 1 if only one of the bits is 1
~	Bitwise NOT	Inverts all the bits
<<	Left Shift	Shifts bits to the left by a specified number of positions
>>	Right Shift	Shifts bits to the right by a specified number of positions

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Example: Using Bitwise Operators

This example demonstrates the basic use of bitwise operators:

File: main.swift

let a: UInt8 = 0b10101010
let b: UInt8 = 0b11001100

// Bitwise AND
let andResult = a & b
print("AND result: \(String(andResult, radix: 2))")

// Bitwise OR
let orResult = a | b
print("OR result: \(String(orResult, radix: 2))")

// Bitwise XOR
let xorResult = a ^ b
print("XOR result: \(String(xorResult, radix: 2))")

// Bitwise NOT
let notResult = ~a
print("NOT result: \(String(notResult, radix: 2))")

Explanation:

• a and b are binary numbers represented in an 8-bit format.
• The & operator performs a bitwise AND operation, keeping bits that are 1 in both a and b.
• The | operator performs a bitwise OR operation, keeping bits that are 1 in either a or b.
• The ^ operator performs a bitwise XOR operation, keeping bits that are 1 in either a or b but not both.
• The ~ operator inverts all bits in a.

Output:

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Example 1: Left and Right Shift

This example demonstrates bitwise shifting: both left and right. We take an unsigned integer with eight bits, and shift if left by 2 bits, and the shift the same value right by 2 bits, and print the outputs.

File: main.swift

let value: UInt8 = 0b00001111

// Left shift
let leftShift = value << 2
print("Left shift result: \(String(leftShift, radix: 2))")

// Right shift
let rightShift = value >> 2
print("Right shift result: \(String(rightShift, radix: 2))")

Explanation:

• The << operator shifts the bits of value to the left by 2 positions, adding zeros on the right.
• The >> operator shifts the bits of value to the right by 2 positions, discarding bits on the right.

Output:

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Example 2: Masking and Filtering Bits using Bitwise Operators

This example shows how to use bitwise operators for masking:

File: main.swift

let value: UInt8 = 0b11010101
let mask: UInt8 = 0b00001111

// Apply mask
let maskedValue = value & mask
print("Masked result: \(String(maskedValue, radix: 2))")

Explanation:

• The mask 0b00001111 isolates the last 4 bits of the value.
• The & operator ensures only the last 4 bits of value remain.

Output:

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Conclusion

Bitwise operators are powerful tools for working directly with binary data in Swift. They are commonly used in performance-critical applications, graphics programming, and low-level hardware interactions.