JavaScript operators are special symbols that perform operations on one or more operands (values). For example,
2 + 3; // 5
Here, we used the +
operator to add the operands 2 and 3.
JavaScript Operator Types
Here is a list of different JavaScript operators you will learn in this tutorial:
- Arithmetic Operators
- Assignment Operators
- Comparison Operators
- Logical Operators
- Bitwise Operators
- String Operators
- Miscellaneous Operators
1. JavaScript Arithmetic Operators
We use arithmetic operators to perform arithmetic calculations like addition, subtraction, etc. For example,
5 - 3; // 2
Here, we used the -
operator to subtract 3 from 5.
Commonly Used Arithmetic Operators
Operator | Name | Example |
---|---|---|
+ |
Addition | 3 + 4 // 7 |
- |
Subtraction | 5 - 3 // 2 |
* |
Multiplication | 2 * 3 // 6 |
/ |
Division | 4 / 2 // 2 |
% |
Remainder | 5 % 2 // 1 |
++ |
Increment (increments by 1) | ++5 or 5++ // 6 |
-- |
Decrement (decrements by 1) | --4 or 4-- // 3 |
** |
Exponentiation (Power) | 4 ** 2 // 16 |
Example 1: Arithmetic Operators in JavaScript
let x = 5;
// addition operator
console.log("Addition: x + 3 = ", x + 3);
// subtraction operator
console.log("Subtraction: x - 3 =", x - 3);
// multiplication operator
console.log("Multiplication: x * 3 =", x * 3);
// division operator
console.log("Division: x / 3 =", x / 3);
// remainder operator
console.log("Remainder: x % 3 =", x % 3);
// increment operator
console.log("Increment: ++x =", ++x);
// decrement operator
console.log("Decrement: --x =", --x);
// exponentiation operator
console.log("Exponentiation: x ** 3 =", x ** 3);
Output
Addition: x + 3 = 8 Subtraction: x - 3 = 2 Multiplication: x * 3 = 15 Division: x / 3 = 1.6666666666666667 Remainder: x % 3 = 2 Increment: ++x = 6 Decrement: --x = 5 Exponentiation: x ** 3 = 125
Note: The increment operator ++
adds 1 to the operand. And, the decrement operator --
decreases the value of the operand by 1.
To learn more, visit Increment ++ and Decrement -- Operators.
2. JavaScript Assignment Operators
We use assignment operators to assign values to variables. For example,
let x = 5;
Here, we used the =
operator to assign the value 5 to the variable x.
Commonly Used Assignment Operators
Operator | Name | Example |
---|---|---|
= |
Assignment Operator | a = 7; |
+= |
Addition Assignment | a += 5; // a = a + 5 |
-= |
Subtraction Assignment | a -= 2; // a = a - 2 |
*= |
Multiplication Assignment | a *= 3; // a = a * 3 |
/= |
Division Assignment | a /= 2; // a = a / 2 |
%= |
Remainder Assignment | a %= 2; // a = a % 2 |
**= |
Exponentiation Assignment | a **= 2; // a = a**2 |
Example 2: Assignment Operators in JavaScript
// assignment operator
let a = 7;
console.log("Assignment: a = 7, a =", a);
// addition assignment operator
a += 5; // a = a + 5
console.log("Addition Assignment: a += 5, a =", a);
// subtraction assignment operator
a -= 5; // a = a - 5
console.log("Subtraction Assignment: a -= 5, a =", a);
// multiplication assignment operator
a *= 2; // a = a * 2
console.log("Multiplication Assignment: a *= 2, a =", a);
// division assignment operator
a /= 2; // a = a / 2
console.log("Division Assignment: a /= 2, a =", a);
// remainder assignment operator
a %= 2; // a = a % 2
console.log("Remainder Assignment: a %= 2, a =", a);
// exponentiation assignment operator
a **= 2; // a = a**2
console.log("Exponentiation Assignment: a **= 7, a =", a);
Output
Assignment: a = 7, a = 7 Addition Assignment: a += 5, a = 12 Subtraction Assignment: a -= 5, a = 7 Multiplication Assignment: a *= 2, a = 14 Division Assignment: a /= 2, a = 7 Remainder Assignment: a %= 2, a = 1 Exponentiation Assignment: a **= 7, a = 1
3. JavaScript Comparison Operators
We use comparison operators to compare two values and return a boolean value (true
or false
). For example,
const a = 3, b = 2;
console.log(a > b);
// Output: true
Here, we have used the >
comparison operator to check whether a (whose value is 3) is greater than b (whose value is 2).
Since 3 is greater than 2, we get true
as output.
Note: In the above example, a > b
is called a boolean expression since evaluating it results in a boolean value.
Commonly Used Comparison Operators
Operator | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
== |
Equal to | 3 == 5 gives us false |
!= |
Not equal to | 3 != 4 gives us true |
> |
Greater than | 4 > 4 gives us false |
< |
Less than | 3 < 3 gives us false |
>= |
Greater than or equal to | 4 >= 4 gives us true |
<= |
Less than or equal to | 3 <= 3 gives us true |
=== |
Strictly equal to | 3 === "3" gives us false |
!== |
Strictly not equal to | 3 !== "3" gives us true |
Example 3: Comparison Operators in JavaScript
// equal to operator
console.log("Equal to: 2 == 2 is", 2 == 2);
// not equal operator
console.log("Not equal to: 3 != 3 is", 3 != 3);
// strictly equal to operator
console.log("Strictly equal to: 2 === '2' is", 2 === '2');
// strictly not equal to operator
console.log("Strictly not equal to: 2 !== '2' is", 2 !== '2');
// greater than operator
console.log("Greater than: 3 > 3 is", 3 > 3);
// less than operator
console.log("Less than: 2 > 2 is", 2 > 2);
// greater than or equal to operator
console.log("Greater than or equal to: 3 >= 3 is", 3 >= 3);
// less than or equal to operator
console.log("Less than or equal to: 2 <= 2 is", 2 <= 2);
Output
Equal to: 2 == 2 is true Not equal to: 3 != 3 is false Strictly equal to: 2 === '2' is false Strictly not equal to: 2 !== '2' is true Greater than: 3 > 3 is false Less than: 2 > 2 is false Greater than or equal to: 3 >= 3 is true Less than or equal to: 2 <= 2 is true
The equality operators (==
and !=
) convert both operands to the same type before comparing their values. For example,
console.log(3 == "3"); // true
Here, we used the ==
operator to compare the number 3 and the string 3
.
By default, JavaScript converts string 3
to number 3 and compares the values.
However, the strict equality operators (===
and !==
) do not convert operand types before comparing their values. For example,
console.log(4 === "4"); // false
Here, JavaScript didn't convert string 4
to number 4 before comparing their values.
Thus, the result is false
, as number 4 isn't equal to string 4
.
4. JavaScript Logical Operators
We use logical operators to perform logical operations on boolean expressions. For example,
const x = 5, y = 3;
console.log((x < 6) && (y < 5));
// Output: true
Here, &&
is the logical operator AND. Since both x < 6
and y < 5
are true
, the combined result is true
.
Commonly Used Logical Operators
Operator | Syntax | Description |
---|---|---|
&& (Logical AND) |
expression1 && expression2 |
true only if both expression1 and expression2 are true |
|| (Logical OR) |
expression1 || expression2 |
true if either expression1 or expression2 is true |
! (Logical NOT) |
!expression |
false if expression is true and vice versa |
Example 4: Logical Operators in JavaScript
let x = 3;
// logical AND
console.log((x < 5) && (x > 0)); // true
console.log((x < 5) && (x > 6)); // false
// logical OR
console.log((x > 2) || (x > 5)); // true
console.log((x > 3) || (x < 0)); // false
// logical NOT
console.log(!(x == 3)); // false
console.log(!(x < 2)); // true
Note: We use comparison and logical operators in decision-making and loops. You will learn about them in detail in later tutorials.
More on JavaScript Operators
We use bitwise operators to perform binary operations on integers.
Operator | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
& | Bitwise AND | 5 & 3 // 1 |
| | Bitwise OR | 5 | 3 // 7 |
^ | Bitwise XOR | 5 ^ 3 // 6 |
~ | Bitwise NOT | ~5 // -6 |
<< | Left shift | 5 << 1 // 10 |
>> | Sign-propagating right shift | -10 >> 1 // -5 |
>>> | Zero-fill right shift | -10 >>> 1 // 2147483643 |
Note: We rarely use bitwise operators in everyday programming. If you are interested, visit JavaScript Bitwise Operators to learn more.
In JavaScript, you can also use the +
operator to concatenate (join) two strings. For example,
let str1 = "Hel", str2 = "lo";
console.log(str1 + str2);
// Output: Hello
Here, we used the +
operator to concatenate str1 and str2.
JavaScript has many more operators besides the ones we listed above. You will learn about them in detail in later tutorials.
Operator | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
, |
Comma: Evaluates multiple operands and returns the value of the last operand. | let a = (1, 3, 4); // 4 |
?: |
Ternary: Returns value based on the condition. | (50 > 40) ? "pass" : "fail"; // "pass" |
typeof |
Returns the data type of the variable. | typeof 3; // "number" |
instanceof |
Returns true if the specified object is a valid object of the specified class. |
objectX instanceof ClassX |
void |
Discards any expression's return value. | void(x) // undefined |
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