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 :
int x = 10;The addition assignment operator ( += ) adds a value to a variable:
int x = 10;
x += 5;A list of all assignment operators
| Operator | Example | Same As | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| = | 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 += 5 is the same as x = 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);