Programming fundamentals - OCRCommon arithmetic operators

Programs are designed using common building blocks, known as programming constructs. These programming constructs form the basis for all programs.

Part ofComputer ScienceComputational thinking, algorithms and programming

Common arithmetic operators

An operator is a character, or characters, that determine what action is to be performed or considered.

There are three types of operator that programmers use:

mathematical operators
comparison operators
logical operators

These operators are common to most high level programming languages.

Mathematical operators

Computers are designed to carry out calculations. Mathematical operators allow arithmetic to be performed on values.

Mathematical operation	Operator	Example
Addition	+	x = x + 5
Subtraction	-	x = x - 5
Multiplication	*	x = x * 5
Division	/	x = x / 5
Integer division	DIV	x = x DIV 5
Remainder	MOD	x = x MOD 5

Mathematical operation	Addition
Operator	+
Example	x = x + 5

Mathematical operation	Subtraction
Operator	-
Example	x = x - 5

Mathematical operation	Multiplication
Operator	*
Example	x = x * 5

Mathematical operation	Division
Operator	/
Example	x = x / 5

Mathematical operation	Integer division
Operator	DIV
Example	x = x DIV 5

Mathematical operation	Remainder
Operator	MOD
Example	x = x MOD 5

Comparison operators

Comparison operators allow for assignment and for comparisons to be made. They are used in condition testing.

Comparison operation	Operator	Example
Assignment	=	x = 5
Equivalence	= or ==	if x = 5 or if x == 5
Less than	<	if x < 5
Less than or equal to	<=	if x <= 5
Greater than	>	if x > 5
Greater than or equal to	>=	if x >= 5
Does not equal	<> or !=	If x <> 5 or if x != 5

Comparison operation	Assignment
Operator	=
Example	x = 5

Comparison operation	Equivalence
Operator	= or ==
Example	if x = 5 or if x == 5

Comparison operation	Less than
Operator	<
Example	if x < 5

Comparison operation	Less than or equal to
Operator	<=
Example	if x <= 5

Comparison operation	Greater than
Operator	>
Example	if x > 5

Comparison operation	Greater than or equal to
Operator	>=
Example	if x >= 5

Comparison operation	Does not equal
Operator	<> or !=
Example	If x <> 5 or if x != 5

Logical operators

Logical operators are used to combine logical operators to give more complex decisions.

Logical operation	Operator	Example
And	AND	if x > 0 AND x < 10
Or	OR	if topic == "Computing" OR topic == "Computer Science"
Not	NOT	while NOT x

Logical operation	And
Operator	AND
Example	if x > 0 AND x < 10

Logical operation	Or
Operator	OR
Example	if topic == "Computing" OR topic == "Computer Science"

Logical operation	Not
Operator	NOT
Example	while NOT x

You can find out more about Boolean algebra in the computational logic study guide.

Applying computer-related mathematics

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