Learn Increment and Decrement Operators in C: A Beginners Guide with Examples - Codzify

Article by: Manish Methani

Last Updated: November 6, 2021 at 2:04pm IST
3 min 38 sec read

Increment and decrement operators are used to modify the value of a variable in C programming. They are unary operators, which means they operate on a single operand. The increment operator is denoted by "++" and the decrement operator is denoted by "--". In this tutorial, we will explore how to use increment and decrement operators in C programming with code examples.

1. Increment Operator: The increment operator increases the value of a variable by 1. It can be used in two ways: prefix and postfix.

• Prefix Increment Operator: The prefix increment operator is denoted by "++x" and it first increments the value of x and then uses the new value in the expression.

int x = 5;
int y = ++x;
// x is now 6, y is also 6

• Postfix Increment Operator: The postfix increment operator is denoted by "x++" and it first uses the value of x in the expression and then increments the value of x.

int x = 5;
int y = x++;
// x is now 6, y is 5

        2. Decrement Operator: The decrement operator decreases the value of a variable by 1. It can also be used in two ways: prefix and postfix.

• Prefix Decrement Operator: The prefix decrement operator is denoted by "--x" and it first decrements the value of x and then uses the new value in the expression.

int x = 5;
int y = --x;
// x is now 4, y is also 4

• Postfix Decrement Operator: The postfix decrement operator is denoted by "x--" and it first uses the value of x in the expression and then decrements the value of x.

int x = 5;
int y = x--;
// x is now 4, y is 5

         3. Using Increment and Decrement Operators in Loops: Increment and decrement operators are commonly used in loops to iterate over a sequence of values. Here is an example of using the postfix increment operator in a for loop:

for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
   printf("%d ", i);
}
// Output: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Similarly, we can use the postfix decrement operator in a loop to iterate over a sequence of decreasing values.

for(int i = 10; i > 0; i--) {
   printf("%d ", i);
}
// Output: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In conclusion, increment and decrement operators are useful tools for modifying the value of a variable in C programming. They can be used in prefix or postfix notations and are commonly used in loops to iterate over a sequence of values. Remember to use them with care, as they can easily cause confusion and bugs in your code. With these concepts in your toolkit, you will be well on your way to becoming a proficient C programmer.