Open In App

How to swap two numbers without using a temporary variable?

Improve
Improve
Improve
Like Article
Like
Save Article
Save
Share
Report issue
Report
 

Given two variables, x, and y, swap two variables without using a third variable. 

Method 1 (Using Addition and subtraction) 

The idea is to get a sum in one of the two given numbers. The numbers can then be swapped using the sum and subtraction from the sum. 

C++




// C++ Program to swap two numbers  without
// using temporary variable
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
int main()
{
    int x = 10, y = 5;
 
    // Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
    x = x + y; // x now becomes 15
    y = x - y; // y becomes 10
    x = x - y; // x becomes 5
    cout << "After Swapping: x =" << x << ", y=" << y;
}
 
// This code is contributed by mohit kumar.


C




#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
    int x = 10, y = 5;
 
    // Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
    x = x + y; // x now becomes 15
    y = x - y; // y becomes 10
    x = x - y; // x becomes 5
 
    printf("After Swapping: x = %d, y = %d", x, y);
 
    return 0;
}


Java




// Java Program to swap two numbers  without
// using temporary variable
import java.io.*;
 
class Geeks {
 
    public static void main(String a[])
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
        x = x + y;
        y = x - y;
        x = x - y;
        System.out.println("After swapping:"
                           + " x = " + x + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Mayank Tyagi


Python3




x = 10
y = 5
 
# Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
 
# x now becomes 15
x = x + y
 
# y becomes 10
y = x - y
 
# x becomes 5
x = x - y
print("After Swapping: x =", x, " y =", y)
 
# This code is contributed
# by Sumit Sudhakar


C#




// Program to swap two numbers  without
// using temporary variable
using System;
 
class GFG {
    public static void Main()
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
 
        x = x + y;
        y = x - y;
        x = x - y;
        Console.WriteLine("After swapping: x = " + x
                          + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Sam007


Javascript




<script>
 
// Javascript program to swap two
// numbers without using temporary
// variable
 
let x = 10, y = 5;
 
// Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
 
// x now becomes 15
x = x + y;
 
// y becomes 10
y = x - y;
 
// x becomes 5
x = x - y;
 
document.write("After Swapping: x =" + x + ", y=" + y);
 
// This code is contributed by mukesh07
 
</script>


PHP




<?php
// PHP Program to swap two
// numbers without using
// temporary variable
$x = 10; $y = 5;
 
// Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
$x = $x + $y; // x now becomes 15
$y = $x - $y; // y becomes 10
$x = $x - $y; // x becomes 5
 
echo "After Swapping: x = ",
       $x, ", ", "y = ", $y;
 
// This code is contributed by m_kit
?>


Output

After Swapping: x =5, y=10

Time Complexity: O(1).
Auxiliary Space: O(1).

Method 2: (Using Multiplication and division) 

Multiplication and division can also be used for swapping.  

C++




// C++ Program to swap two numbers without using temporary
// variable
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
int main()
{ // NOTE - for this code to work in a generalised sense, y
  // !- 0 to prevent zero division
    int x = 10, y = 5;
 
    if (y == 0) {
        y = x;
        x = 0;
    }
    else if (x == 0) {
        x = y;
        y = 0;
    }
    // Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
    else {
        x = x * y; // x now becomes 50
        y = x / y; // y becomes 10
        x = x / y; // x becomes 5
    }
    cout << "After Swapping: x =" << x << ", y=" << y;
}
 
// This code is contributed by Aditya Kumar (adityakumar129)


C




// C Program to swap two numbers without using temporary
// variable
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
    int x = 10, y = 5;
 
    if (y == 0) {
        y = x;
        x = 0;
    }
    else if (x == 0) {
        x = y;
        y = 0;
    }
    // Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
    else {
        x = x * y; // x now becomes 50
        y = x / y; // y becomes 10
        x = x / y; // x becomes 5
    }
 
    printf("After Swapping: x = %d, y = %d", x, y);
 
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by Aditya Kumar (adityakumar129)


Java




// Java Program to swap two numbers without using temporary
// variable
import java.io.*;
 
class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
 
        if (y == 0) {
            y = x;
            x = 0;
        }
        else if (x == 0) {
            x = y;
            y = 0;
        }
        // Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
        else {
            x = x * y; // x now becomes 50
            y = x / y; // y becomes 10
            x = x / y; // x becomes 5
        }
        
        System.out.println("After swapping:"
                           + " x = " + x + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Aditya Kumar (adityakumar129)


Python3




# Python3 program to
# swap two numbers
# without using
# temporary variable
x = 10
y = 5
 
# code to swap
# 'x' and 'y'
 
if y == 0:
    y = x
    x = 0
elif x == 0:
    x = y
    y = 0
else:
    x = x * y
    y = x // y
    x = x // y
 
 
print("After Swapping: x =",
      x, " y =", y)
 
# This code is contributed
# by @ajit


C#




// C# Program to swap two
// numbers without using
// temporary variable
using System;
 
class GFG {
    static public void Main()
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
 
        if (y == 0) {
            y = x;
            x = 0;
        }
        else if (x == 0) {
            x = y;
            y = 0;
        }
        // Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
        else {
            x = x * y; // x now becomes 50
            y = x / y; // y becomes 10
            x = x / y; // x becomes 5
        }
 
        Console.WriteLine("After swapping:"
                          + " x = " + x + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by ajit.


Javascript




<script>
 
// Javascript program to swap two numbers
// without using temporary variable
var x = 10;
var y = 5;
 
// Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
if (y == 0)
{ y = x; x = 0; }
else if (x == 0) { x = y; y = 0; }
    // Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
  else
  {x = x * y; // x now becomes 50
    y = x / y; // y becomes 10
    x = x / y; // x becomes 5
    }
 
document.write("After swapping:" + " x = " +
               x + ", y = " + y);
 
// This code is contributed by shikhasingrajput
 
</script>


Output

After Swapping: x =5, y=10

Time Complexity: O(1).
Auxiliary Space: O(1).

Method 3: (Using Bitwise XOR) 
The bitwise XOR operator can be used to swap two variables. The XOR of two numbers x and y returns a number that has all the bits as 1 wherever bits of x and y differ. For example, XOR of 10 (In Binary 1010) and 5 (In Binary 0101) is 1111, and XOR of 7 (0111) and 5 (0101) is (0010). 

C++




// C++ code to swap using XOR
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
 
using namespace std;
 
int main()
{
    int x = 10, y = 5;
    // Code to swap 'x' (1010) and 'y' (0101)
    x = x ^ y; // x now becomes 15 (1111)
    y = x ^ y; // y becomes 10 (1010)
    x = x ^ y; // x becomes 5 (0101)
    cout << "After Swapping: x =" << x << ", y=" << y;
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by mohit kumar.


C




// C code to swap using XOR
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
    int x = 10, y = 5;
 
    // Code to swap 'x' (1010) and 'y' (0101)
    x = x ^ y; // x now becomes 15 (1111)
    y = x ^ y; // y becomes 10 (1010)
    x = x ^ y; // x becomes 5 (0101)
 
    printf("After Swapping: x = %d, y = %d", x, y);
 
    return 0;
}


Java




// Java code to swap using XOR
import java.io.*;
 
public class GFG {
 
    public static void main(String a[])
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
 
        // Code to swap 'x' (1010) and 'y' (0101)
        x = x ^ y; // x now becomes 15 (1111)
        y = x ^ y; // y becomes 10 (1010)
        x = x ^ y; // x becomes 5 (0101)
 
        System.out.println("After swap: x = "
                           + x + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Mayank Tyagi


Python3




# Python3 code to swap using XOR
 
x = 10
y = 5
 
# Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
x = x ^ y; # x now becomes 15 (1111)
y = x ^ y; # y becomes 10 (1010)
x = x ^ y; # x becomes 5 (0101)
 
print ("After Swapping: x = ", x, " y =", y)
 
# This code is contributed by
# Sumit Sudhakar


C#




// C# program to swap using XOR
using System;
 
class GFG {
    public static void Main()
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
 
        // Code to swap 'x' (1010)
        // and 'y' (0101)
 
        // x now becomes 15 (1111)
        x = x ^ y;
 
        // y becomes 10 (1010)
        y = x ^ y;
 
        // x becomes 5 (0101)
        x = x ^ y;
 
        Console.WriteLine("After swap: x = " + x + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by ajit


Javascript




<script>
 
// Javascript code to swap using XOR
 
let x = 10, y = 5;
 
// Code to swap 'x' (1010) and 'y' (0101)
x = x ^ y; // x now becomes 15 (1111)
y = x ^ y; // y becomes 10 (1010)
x = x ^ y; // x becomes 5 (0101)
 
document.write("After Swapping: x =" +
               x + ", y=" + y);
 
// This code is contributed by Mayank Tyagi
     
</script>


PHP




<?php
 
// Driver Code
$x = 10;
$y = 5;
 
// Code to swap 'x' (1010)
// and 'y' (0101)
 
// x now becomes 15 (1111)
$x = $x ^ $y;
 
// y becomes 10 (1010)
$y = $x ^ $y;
 
// x becomes 5 (0101)
$x = $x ^ $y;
 
echo "After Swapping: x = ", $x,
                ", ", "y = ", $y;
 
// This code is contributed by aj_36
?>


Output

After Swapping: x =5, y=10

Time Complexity: O(1).
Auxiliary Space: O(1).

Problems with the above methods 
1) The multiplication and division-based approach doesn’t work if one of the numbers is 0 as the product becomes 0 irrespective of the other number.
2) Both Arithmetic solutions may cause an arithmetic overflow. If x and y are too large, addition and multiplication may go out of the integer range.
3) When we use pointers to variable and make a function swap, all the above methods fail when both pointers point to the same variable. Let’s take a look at what will happen in this case if both are pointing to the same variable.

// Bitwise XOR based method 
x = x ^ x; // x becomes 0 
x = x ^ x; // x remains 0 
x = x ^ x; // x remains 0
// Arithmetic based method 
x = x + x; // x becomes 2x 
x = x – x; // x becomes 0 
x = x – x; // x remains 0

Let us see the following program. 

C++




#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
void swap(int* xp, int* yp)
{
    *xp = *xp ^ *yp;
    *yp = *xp ^ *yp;
    *xp = *xp ^ *yp;
}
 
// Driver code
int main()
{
    int x = 10;
    swap(&x, &x);
    cout << "After swap(&x, &x): x = " << x;
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by rathbhupendra


C




#include <stdio.h>
void swap(int* xp, int* yp)
{
    *xp = *xp ^ *yp;
    *yp = *xp ^ *yp;
    *xp = *xp ^ *yp;
}
 
int main()
{
    int x = 10;
    swap(&x, &x);
    printf("After swap(&x, &x): x = %d", x);
    return 0;
}


Java




class GFG {
    static void swap(int[] xp, int[] yp)
    {
        xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
        yp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
        xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int[] x = { 10 };
        swap(x, x);
        System.out.println("After swap(&x, &x): x = " + x[0]);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Aditya Kumar (adityakumar129)


Python3




def swap(xp, yp):
 
    xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0]
    yp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0]
    xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0]
 
 
# Driver code
x = [10]
swap(x, x)
print("After swap(&x, &x): x = ", x[0])
 
# This code is contributed by SHUBHAMSINGH10


C#




// C# program to implement
// the above approach
using System;
class GFG {
 
    static void swap(int[] xp, int[] yp)
    {
        xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
        yp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
        xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
    }
 
    // Driver code
    static void Main()
    {
        int[] x = { 10 };
        swap(x, x);
        Console.WriteLine("After swap(&x,"
                          + "&x): x = " + x[0]);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by divyeshrabadiya07


Javascript




<script>
     
    function swap(xp,yp)
    {
        xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
        yp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
        xp[0] = xp[0] ^ yp[0];
    }
     
    // Driver code
     
    let x=[10];
    swap(x, x);
    document.write("After swap(&x, &x): x = "
                           + x[0]);
     
     
    // This code is contributed by unknown2108
     
</script>


PHP




<?php
function swap(&$xp, &$yp)
{
    $xp = $xp ^ $yp;
    $yp = $xp ^ $yp;
    $xp = $xp ^ $yp;
}
 
// Driver Code
$x = 10;
swap($x, $x);
print("After swap(&x, &x): x = " . $x);
 
// This code is contributed
// by chandan_jnu
?>


Output

After swap(&x, &x): x = 0

Time Complexity: O(1).
Auxiliary Space: O(1).

Swapping a variable with itself may be needed in many standard algorithms. For example, see this implementation of QuickSort where we may swap a variable with itself. The above problem can be avoided by putting a condition before swapping.

C++




#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
void swap(int* xp, int* yp)
{
 
    // Check if the two addresses are same
    if (xp == yp)
        return;
    *xp = *xp + *yp;
    *yp = *xp - *yp;
    *xp = *xp - *yp;
}
 
// Driver Code
int main()
{
    int x = 10;
    swap(&x, &x);
    cout << "After swap(&x, &x): x = " << x;
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by rathbhupendra


C




#include <stdio.h>
void swap(int* xp, int* yp)
{
    if (xp == yp) // Check if the two addresses are same
        return;
    *xp = *xp + *yp;
    *yp = *xp - *yp;
    *xp = *xp - *yp;
}
int main()
{
    int x = 10;
    swap(&x, &x);
    printf("After swap(&x, &x): x = %d", x);
    return 0;
}


Java




// Java program of above approach
class GFG {
 
    static void swap(int xp, int yp)
    {
        if (xp == yp) // Check if the two addresses are same
            return;
        xp = xp + yp;
        yp = xp - yp;
        xp = xp - yp;
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int x = 10;
        swap(x, x);
        System.out.println("After swap(&x, &x): x = " + x);
    }
}
 
// This code is Contributed by Code_Mech.


Python3




# Python3 program of above approach
def swap(xp, yp):
 
    # Check if the two addresses are same
    if (xp[0] == yp[0]):
        return
    xp[0] = xp[0] + yp[0]
    yp[0] = xp[0] - yp[0]
    xp[0] = xp[0] - yp[0]
 
 
# Driver Code
x = [10]
swap(x, x)
print("After swap(&x, &x): x = ", x[0])
 
# This code is contributed by SHUBHAMSINGH10


C#




// C# program of above approach
using System;
class GFG {
 
    static void swap(int xp, int yp)
    {
        if (xp == yp) // Check if the two addresses are same
            return;
        xp = xp + yp;
        yp = xp - yp;
        xp = xp - yp;
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void Main()
    {
        int x = 10;
        swap(x, x);
        Console.WriteLine("After swap(&x, &x): x = " + x);
    }
}
 
// This code is Contributed by Code_Mech.


Javascript




<script>
   function swap(xp, yp)
{
  
    // Check if the two addresses are same
    if (xp == yp)
        return;
    xp[0] = xp[0] + yp[0];
    yp[0] = xp[0] - yp[0];
    xp[0]= xp[0] - yp[0];
}
  
// Driver Code
     x = 10;
    swap(x, x);
    document.write("After swap(&x , &x) : x = " + x);
//This code is contributed by simranarora5sos
</script>


PHP




<?php
function swap($xp, $yp)
{
    // Check if the two addresses
    // are same
    if ($xp == $yp)
        return;
    $xp = $xp + $yp;
    $yp = $xp - $yp;
    $xp = $xp - $yp;
}
 
// Driver Code
$x = 10;
swap($x, $x);
echo("After swap(&x, &x): x = " . $x);
return 0;
 
// This code is contributed
// by Code_Mech.


Output

After swap(&x, &x): x = 10

Time Complexity: O(1).
Auxiliary Space: O(1).

Method 4 (A mixture of bitwise operators and arithmetic operators) 
The idea is the same as discussed in Method 1 but uses Bitwise addition and subtraction for swapping. 

Below is the implementation of the above approach. 

C++




// C++ program to swap two numbers
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function to swap the numbers.
void swap(int& a, int& b)
{
    // same as a = a + b
    a = (a & b) + (a | b);
    // same as b = a - b
    b = a + (~b) + 1;
    // same as a = a - b
    a = a + (~b) + 1;
}
 
// Driver Code
int main()
{
    int a = 5, b = 10;
    // Function Call
    swap(a, b);
    cout << "After swapping: a = " << a << ", b = " << b;
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by Aditya Kumar (adityakumar129)


C




// C program to swap two numbers
#include <stdio.h>
 
// Function to swap the numbers.
void swap(int a, int b)
{
    // same as a = a + b
    a = (a & b) + (a | b);
    // same as b = a - b
    b = a + (~b) + 1;
    // same as a = a - b
    a = a + (~b) + 1;
      printf("After swapping: a = %d , b = %d ",a,b);
}
 
// Driver Code
int main()
{
    int a = 5, b = 10;
    // Function Call
    swap(a, b);
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by Aditya Kumar (adityakumar129)


Java




// Java program to swap two numbers
import java.io.*;
 
class GFG {
    public static void swap(int a, int b)
    {
        // same as a = a + b
        a = (a & b) + (a | b);
        // same as b = a - b
        b = a + (~b) + 1;
        // same as a = a - b
        a = a + (~b) + 1;
        System.out.print("After swapping: a = " + a + ", b = " + b);
    }
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int a = 5, b = 10;
        // Function Call
        swap(a, b);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Aditya Kumar (adityakumar129)


Python3




# Python3 program to swap two numbers
 
# Function to swap the numbers
 
 
def swap(a, b):
 
    # Same as a = a + b
    a = (a & b) + (a | b)
 
    # Same as b = a - b
    b = a + (~b) + 1
 
    # Same as a = a - b
    a = a + (~b) + 1
 
    print("After Swapping: a = ", a, ", b = ", b)
 
 
# Driver code
a = 5
b = 10
 
# Function call
swap(a, b)
 
# This code is contributed by bunnyram19


C#




// C# program to swap two numbers
using System;
class GFG {
 
    static void swap(int a, int b)
    {
        // same as a = a + b
        a = (a & b) + (a | b);
 
        // same as b = a - b
        b = a + (~b) + 1;
 
        // same as a = a - b
        a = a + (~b) + 1;
 
        Console.Write("After swapping: a = " + a
                      + ", b = " + b);
    }
 
    static void Main()
    {
        int a = 5, b = 10;
 
        // Function Call
        swap(a, b);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by divyesh072019


Javascript




<script>
    // Javascript program to swap two numbers
     
    function swap(a, b)
    {
        // same as a = a + b
        a = (a & b) + (a | b);
  
        // same as b = a - b
        b = a + (~b) + 1;
  
        // same as a = a - b
        a = a + (~b) + 1;
  
        document.write("After swapping: a = " + a + ", b = " + b);
    }
     
    let a = 5, b = 10;
  
    // Function Call
    swap(a, b);
     
    // This code is contributed by suresh07.
</script>


PHP




<?php
 
 
// Driver Code
$a = 5;
$b = 10;
 
echo("Before swap(a and b) " . $a . "and". $b."<br>");
// same as a = a + b
    $a = ($a & $b) + ($a | $b);
  
    // same as b = a - b
    $b = $a + (~$b) + 1;
  
    // same as a = a - b
    $a = $a + (~$b) + 1;
 
echo("After swap(a and b) " . $a. "and". $b);
return 0;
 
?>


Output

After swapping: a = 10, b = 5

Time Complexity: O(1)
Auxiliary Space: O(1), since no extra space has been taken.

Method 5 (One Line Expression) 

We can write only one line to swap two numbers.

  • x = x ^ y ^ (y = x);
  • x = x + y – (y = x);
  • x = (x * y) / (y = x);
  • x , y = y, x (In Python)

C++




#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
  
int main(){
    int x = 10, y = 5;
    x = (x * y) / (y = x);
    cout << x << " " << y;
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by isha307


C




#include <stdio.h>
 
int main() {
    int x = 10, y = 5;
    x = (x * y) / (y = x);
    printf("After Swapping: x = %d, y = %d", x, y);
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by isha307


Java




/*package whatever //do not write package name here */
import java.io.*;
 
class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
        x = (x * y) / (y = x);
        System.out.println("After swapping:"
                           + " x = " + x + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by isha307


Python3




# Python3 program to swap two numbers
 
# Function to swap the numbers
def swap(x, y):
  x , y = y, x
  print("After Swapping: x = ", x, ", y = ", y)
   
# Driver code
x = 10
y = 5
  
# Function call
swap(x, y)
  
# This code is contributed by kothavvsaakash


C#




// C# program to swap two numbers
 
using System;
 
public class GFG
{
    static public void Main ()
    {
        int x = 10;
        int y = 5;
        x = (x * y) / (y = x);
        Console.Write("After swapping:"  + " x = " + x + ", y = " + y);
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by kothavvsaakash


Javascript




<script>
 
// Javascript program to swap two
// numbers without using temporary
// variable
 
let x = 10, y = 5;
 
// Code to swap 'x' and 'y'
x = (x * y)/(x = y);
 
document.write("After Swapping: x =" + x + ", y=" + y);
 
// This code is contributed by Abhijeet Kumar(abhijeet19403)
 
</script>


Output

5 10

Time Complexity: O(1)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

To know more about swapping two variables in one line, click here. Please comment if you find anything incorrect, or if you want to share more information about the topic discussed above
 



Last Updated : 11 Oct, 2023
Like Article
Save Article
Previous
Next
Share your thoughts in the comments
Similar Reads