Conditionally assign a value without using conditional and arithmetic operators
Last Updated :
13 Sep, 2023
Given 4 integers a, b, y, and x, where x can assume the values of either 0 or 1 only. The following question is asked:
If 'x' is 0,
Assign value 'a' to variable 'y'
Else (If 'x' is 1)
Assign value 'b' to variable 'y'.
Note: – You are not allowed to use any conditional operator (including the ternary operator) or any arithmetic operator (+, -, *, /).
Examples :
Input : a = 5 , b = 10, x = 1
Output : y = 10
Input : a = 5, b = 10 , x = 0
Output : y = 5
Asked in: Google Interview
Solution 1:
An Idea is to simply store both ‘a’ and ‘b’ in an array at 0th and 1st index respectively. Then store value to ‘y’ by taking ‘x’ as an index.
Below is the implementation of the above approach:
C++
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int assignValue( int a, int b, int x)
{
int y;
int arr[2];
arr[0] = a;
arr[1] = b;
y = arr[x];
return y;
}
int main()
{
int a = 5;
int b = 10;
int x = 0;
cout << "Value assigned to 'y' is "
<< assignValue(a, b, x);
return 0;
}
|
Java
public class GFG {
static int assignValue( int a, int b, int x)
{
int y;
int arr[] = new int [ 2 ];
arr[ 0 ] = a;
arr[ 1 ] = b;
y = arr[x];
return y;
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
int a = 5 ;
int b = 10 ;
int x = 0 ;
System.out.println( "Value assigned to 'y' is "
+ assignValue(a, b, x));
}
}
|
Python3
def assignValue(a, b, x):
arr = [ 0 ] * 2
arr[ 0 ] = a
arr[ 1 ] = b
y = arr[x]
return y
if __name__ = = "__main__" :
a = 5
b = 10
x = 0
print ( "Value assigned to 'y' is" ,
assignValue(a, b, x))
|
C#
using System;
public class GFG {
static int assignValue( int a, int b, int x)
{
int y;
int [] arr = new int [2];
arr[0] = a;
arr[1] = b;
y = arr[x];
return y;
}
public static void Main()
{
int a = 5;
int b = 10;
int x = 0;
Console.Write( "Value assigned to "
+ "'y' is " + assignValue(a, b, x));
}
}
|
PHP
<?php
function assignValue( $a , $b , $x )
{
$y ;
$arr = array (0, 0);
$arr [0] = $a ;
$arr [1] = $b ;
$y = $arr [ $x ];
return $y ;
}
$a = 5;
$b = 10;
$x = 0;
echo "Value assigned to 'y' is " .
assignValue( $a , $b , $x );
?>
|
Javascript
<script>
function assignValue(a , b , x) {
var y;
var arr = Array(2);
arr[0] = a;
arr[1] = b;
y = arr[x];
return y;
}
var a = 5;
var b = 10;
var x = 0;
document.write( "Value assigned to 'y' is "
+ assignValue(a, b, x));
</script>
|
Output
Value assigned to 'y' is 5
Solution 2:
Using bitwise AND operator.
C++
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int a = 5;
int b = 10;
int x = 1;
int y;
if (x & 1)
y = b;
else
y = a;
cout << "Value assigned to 'y' is " << y << endl;
return 0;
}
|
Java
import java.io.*;
class GFG
{
public static void main (String[] args)
{
int a = 5 ;
int b = 10 ;
int x = 1 ;
int y;
if ((x & 1 ) != 0 )
y = b;
else
y = a;
System.out.println( "Value assigned to 'y' is " + y);
}
}
|
Python3
a = 5
b = 10
x = 1
y = 0
if ((x & 1 ) ! = 0 ):
y = b
else :
y = a
print ( "Value assigned to 'y' is " , y)
|
C#
using System;
public class GFG
{
static public void Main ()
{
int a = 5;
int b = 10;
int x = 1;
int y;
if ((x & 1) != 0)
y = b;
else
y = a;
Console.WriteLine( "Value assigned to 'y' is " + y);
}
}
|
Javascript
<script>
var a = 5;
var b = 10;
var x = 1;
var y;
if ((x & 1) != 0)
y = b;
else
y = a;
document.write( "Value assigned to 'y' is " + y);
</script>
|
Output
Value assigned to 'y' is 10
Reference: https://www.careercup.com/question?id=5135296679116800
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