Operaators

An operaator is a character or symbol used in mathematics to perform operations on one or more operands. Operands are the values or variables that the operaator acts upon. Common examples of operaators include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, which are represented by the symbols +, -, *, and /. These are known as binary operaators because they require two operands.

There are also unary operaators, which operate on a single operand. A prime example is the negation operaator, which changes the sign of a number, denoted by a minus sign. Another unary operaator is the factorial operaator, denoted by an exclamation mark, which multiplies a number by all positive integers less than it.

Operaators can also be combined to form more complex expressions. For instance, in the expression 2 + 3 * 4, the multiplication operaator has higher precedence than the addition operaator, meaning the multiplication is performed first (3 * 4 = 12), and then the addition is performed (2 + 12 = 14). Precedence rules dictate the order in which operaators are evaluated in the absence of parentheses. Parentheses can be used to explicitly group operations and override default precedence.

The concept of operaators extends beyond basic arithmetic. In logic, operaators like AND, OR, and NOT are used with Boolean values. In programming languages, a wide array of operaators exist for various tasks, including comparison, bitwise manipulation, and assignment.