Difference between Unary and Binary Operators

Unary Operators and Binary operators are both fundamental concepts in computer science and programming languages, especially in the context of arithmetic and logical operations. Here’s a breakdown of the differences between them:

Unary Operators:

Unary Operator is an operator that operates on a single operand, meaning it affects only one value or variable. Unary operators are commonly used in programming languages to perform various operations such as changing the sign of a value, incrementing or decrementing a value, or performing logical negation.

Examples of Unary Operators:

Here are the examples of Unary Operator in Programming:

• Unary minus (-x)
• Increment (++)
• Decrement (–)
• Logical NOT (!x)

Binary Operators:

Binary Operator is an operator that operates on two operands, meaning it affects two values or variables. Binary operators are commonly used in programming languages to perform various operations such as arithmetic operations, logical operations, and bitwise operations.

Examples of Binary Operators:

Here are the examples of Binary operator in Programming:

• Addition (+)
• Subtraction (-)
• Multiplication (*)
• Division (/)
• Assignment (=)
• Logical AND (&&)
• Logical OR (||)

Difference between Unary and Binary Operators:

Aspect	Unary Operators	Binary Operators
Number of Operands	Operates on one operand	Operates on two operands
Example	-x, ++i, !flag	x + y, a * b, value == 10
Operations	Typically perform operations on a single value	Perform operations involving two values
Syntax and Usage	May appear before or after the operand	Appears between the operands
Purpose	Used for operations like negation, increment, etc.	Used for arithmetic operations, comparisons, etc.
Associativity	Some have prefix and postfix forms (++i, i++)	Usually left-associative (a + b + c)