What is the difference between & and && in Java?

What is the difference between & and && in Java?

In Java, & and && are both used as logical operators, but they have different behaviors:

  1. & (Bitwise AND and Logical AND):

    • & is used as both a bitwise AND operator and a logical AND operator.
    • As a bitwise AND operator, it performs a bitwise AND operation on each pair of corresponding bits in two integer operands.
    • As a logical AND operator, it evaluates both of its operands regardless of the result of the first operand. It returns true if both operands are true and false otherwise.

    Example of logical AND (&) operator:

    boolean a = true; boolean b = false; boolean result = a & b; // result is false

  2. && (Conditional AND or Short-Circuit AND):

    • && is used as a logical AND operator.
    • It evaluates the first operand and, if it is false, it short-circuits and does not evaluate the second operand because the overall result will be false regardless of the second operand's value. This short-circuit behavior can be useful for optimizing code and preventing potential errors.
    • If the first operand is true, it evaluates the second operand and returns true if both operands are true, and false otherwise.

    Example of conditional AND (&&) operator:

    boolean a = true; boolean b = false; boolean result = a && b; // result is false, and b is not evaluated

In most cases, when you want to perform logical AND operations on boolean values, you should use && because it provides short-circuit behavior, which can help prevent unnecessary evaluations and improve performance in some situations. Use & when you specifically need a bitwise AND operation or when you want to ensure both operands are evaluated, regardless of the result of the first operand.

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