Bitwise Operators

  • JavaScript’s bitwise operators are used to perform bitwise operations on values to determine relationships similar to logical operations, such as AND, OR, NOT, etc.
  • The difference between bitwise operators and logical operators, then, is that bitwise operators are used on numeric values only.
  • When a bitwise operator is used, numeric values using the operator are converted to their 32 bit values.
  • A bit is the smallest possible unit of (computer) data. A bit can only be one of two binary values: 0 or 1.
  • 8 bits make up one single byte.
  • Knowledge of binary is not required to program with JavaScript, so we will not go into detail on the conversion of a numeric value to its binary value. This conversion is done ‘behind the scenes’ by the computer anyways.
  • You will probably not use bitwise operators too frequently

Bitwise operations result in True or False, like logical operators.

If you’d like to read more about bitwise operators, visit the documentation: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Bitwise_Operators

Other Types of Operators

  • JavaScript has a few additional operators that can be convenient, and are worth mentioning. You likely would not use these as frequently as the other operators already discussed.
  • Type Of : The type of operator returns the data type of a specified variable, object, function, etc.
    • Operator: typeof
    • useful for making sure you are receiving the correct type of data, reducing bugs
let car = "Honda";
typeof car; //this line returns "string" because the value of car is a string
let x, y;
let equation = x + 5 / (6 * y) + 17;
typeof equation; //this line returns "number" because the value of car is a string
typeof car === typeof equation // false

Delete : The delete operator deletes a property from an object * Operator: delete * i have never seen this used

let pet = {name:"Macy", species:"Dog", age:5, attribute:"fluffy"};
delete pet.age;   // removes the age property from the pet object
  • In : The in operator checks to see if a specified property is in a specified object(objects are covered in the next lesson). If the object does contain the property, the operation returns true. Otherwise, it returns false.
    • Operator: in
pet = {name:"Macy", species:"Dog", age:5, attribute:"fluffy"};
"name" in pet;   // returns true because the pet object has a property called "name"

Exercises

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