Operator Precedence and Associativity
The C++ language includes all C operators and adds several new operators. Operators specify an evaluation to be performed on one of the following:
One operand (unary operator)
Two operands (binary operator)
Three operands (ternary operator)
Operators follow a strict precedence, which defines the evaluation order of expressions containing these operators. Operators associate with either the expression on their left or the expression on their right; this is called "associativity." The following table shows the precedence and associativity of C++ operators (from highest to lowest precedence). Operators in the same segment of the table have equal precedence and are evaluated in the given order in an expression unless explicitly forced by parentheses.
C++ Operator Precedence and Associativity
Operator |
Name or Meaning |
Associativity |
|---|---|---|
:: |
Scope resolution |
None |
. |
Member selection (object) |
Left to right |
–> |
Member selection (pointer) |
Left to right |
[ ] |
Array subscript |
Left to right |
( ) |
Function call member initialization |
Left to right |
++ |
Postfix increment |
Left to right |
–– |
Postfix decrement |
Left to right |
typeid( ) |
type name |
Left to right |
const_cast |
Type cast (conversion) |
Left to right |
dynamic_cast |
Type cast (conversion) |
Left to right |
reinterpret_cast |
Type cast (conversion) |
Left to right |
static_cast |
Type cast (conversion) |
Left to right |
sizeof |
Size of object or type |
Right to left |
++ |
Prefix increment |
Right to left |
–– |
Prefix decrement |
Right to left |
~ |
One's complement |
Right to left |
! |
Logical not |
Right to left |
– |
Unary minus |
Right to left |
+ |
Unary plus |
Right to left |
& |
Address-of |
Right to left |
* |
Indirection |
Right to left |
new |
Create object |
Right to left |
delete |
Destroy object |
Right to left |
() |
Cast |
Right to left |
.* |
Pointer-to-member (objects) |
Left to right |
–>* |
Pointer-to-member (pointers) |
Left to right |
* |
Multiplication |
Left to right |
/ |
Division |
Left to right |
% |
Modulus |
Left to right |
+ |
Addition |
Left to right |
– |
Subtraction |
Left to right |
<< |
Left shift |
Left to right |
>> |
Right shift |
Left to right |
< |
Less than |
Left to right |
> |
Greater than |
Left to right |
<= |
Less than or equal to |
Left to right |
>= |
Greater than or equal to |
Left to right |
== |
Equality |
Left to right |
!= |
Inequality |
Left to right |
& |
Bitwise AND |
Left to right |
^ |
Bitwise exclusive OR |
Left to right |
| |
Bitwise inclusive OR |
Left to right |
&& |
Logical AND |
Left to right |
|| |
Logical OR |
Left to right |
e1?e2:e3 |
Conditional |
Right to left |
= |
Assignment |
Right to left |
*= |
Multiplication assignment |
Right to left |
/= |
Division assignment |
Right to left |
%= |
Modulus assignment |
Right to left |
+= |
Addition assignment |
Right to left |
–= |
Subtraction assignment |
Right to left |
<<= |
Left-shift assignment |
Right to left |
>>= |
Right-shift assignment |
Right to left |
&= |
Bitwise AND assignment |
Right to left |
|= |
Bitwise inclusive OR assignment |
Right to left |
^= |
Bitwise exclusive OR assignment |
Right to left |
throw expr |
throw expression |
Right to left |
, |
Comma |
Left to right |