Use Cases of Bitwise XOR Operator

The bitwise XOR operator (^) has several use cases in programming:

  • Flipping individual bits: The XOR operator can be used to flip individual bits in a number. For example, x ^ 1 will flip the least significant bit of x.
  • Swapping two variables without a temporary variable: The XOR operator can be used to swap the values of two variables without using a temporary variable. For example, a ^= b; b ^= a; a ^= b; will swap the values of a and b.
  • Checking if two numbers have opposite signs: The XOR operator can be used to check if two numbers have opposite signs. For example, (x ^ y) < 0 will return true if x and y have opposite signs.
  • Implementing simple encryption algorithms: The XOR operator can be used to implement simple encryption algorithms. For example, x ^ key will encrypt x using key, and x ^ key ^ key will decrypt x using key.
  • Detecting changes in data: The XOR operator can be used to detect changes in data. For example, x ^ y will return 0 if x and y are the same, and a non-zero value if they are different.

Bitwise XOR Operator in Programming

Bitwise XOR Operator is represented by the caret symbol (^). It is used to perform a bitwise XOR operation on the individual bits of two operands. The XOR operator returns 1 if the corresponding bits in the two operands are different, and 0 if they are the same.

Table of Content

  • What is Bitwise XOR?
  • Bitwise XOR operator:
  • Bitwise XOR operator in C:
  • Bitwise XOR operator in C++:
  • Bitwise XOR operator in Java:
  • Bitwise XOR operator in Python:
  • Bitwise XOR operator in C#:
  • Bitwise XOR operator in Javascript:
  • Use Cases of Bitwise XOR Operator:
  • Applications of Bitwise XOR Operator in Programming:

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What is Bitwise XOR?

Bitwise XOR (exclusive OR) is a binary operation that takes two equal-length binary representations and performs the logical XOR operation on each pair of corresponding bits. The result in each position is 1 if only one of the two bits is 1 but will be 0 if both are 0 or both are 1....

Bitwise XOR operator:

The bitwise XOR operator is represented by the caret symbol (^) in many programming languages, including Python, C, C++, and Java....

Bitwise XOR operator in C:

C #include   int main() {     int a = 10; // 1010 in binary     int b = 6; // 0110 in binary       int result = a ^ b; // 1100 in binary       printf("%d\n", result); // Output: 12       return 0; }...

Bitwise XOR operator in C++:

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Bitwise XOR operator in Java:

C++ #include using namespace std;   int main() {     int a = 10; // 1010 in binary     int b = 6; // 0110 in binary       int result = a ^ b; // 1100 in binary       cout << result << endl; // Output: 12       return 0; }...

Bitwise XOR operator in Python:

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Bitwise XOR operator in C#:

Java import java.io.*; class GFG {     public static void main(String[] args)     {         int a = 10; // 1010 in binary         int b = 6; // 0110 in binary           int result = a ^ b; // 1100 in binary           System.out.println(result); // Output: 12     } }...

Bitwise XOR operator in Javascript:

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Use Cases of Bitwise XOR Operator:

Python3 a = 10  # 1010 in binary b = 6   # 0110 in binary   result = a ^ b  # 1100 in binary   print(result)  # Output: 12...

Applications of Bitwise XOR Operator:

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