Arithmetic Operations in a Programming Language

Arithmetic Operations

Addition: It is represented by the + operator. This operation adds two operands together. For example, a + b would add the values of a and b.
Subtraction: Represented by the - operator, this operation subtracts one operand from another. For example, a - b would subtract the value of b from a.
Multiplication: This is depicted by the * operator. In an expression like a * b, the value of a would be multiplied by b.
Division: The / operator is used for division. a / b would divide the value of a by b, yielding the quotient.
Modulo: This operation, represented by the % symbol, gives the remainder after integer division. For example, a % b returns the remainder after a is divided by b.
Increment: The ++ operator increases the value of a variable by 1. If a is a variable, a++ increases its value by 1.
Decrement: Similarly, the -- operator reduces the value of a variable by 1. The operation a-- would decrease the value of variable a by 1.

Emphasis must be made on the order of operations, usually remembered through the acronym PEMDAS:

Parentheses: The highest priority is given to expressions in parentheses.
Exponents: Next in line are exponents, which include powers and square roots, etc.
Multiplication and Division: These are next in the precedence order. They are processed from left to right.
Addition and Subtraction: These operations have the lowest priority and are also performed from left to right.

Sometimes, you might need to perform operations with operands of different data types. In this case, you will need to use type casting:

Implicit Casting: The programming language automatically converts one data type to another without the programmer’s intervention.
Explicit Casting: The programmer uses specific functions or methods to convert the data type.

Unary Operations: These operations only involve one operand. Examples include increment (++) and decrement (--) operations.
Binary Operations: These operations involve two operands. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and modulo are binary operations.