Binary Operator Hack and Tricks

Binary Operator Hack and Tricks

August 30, 2020

Moch Lutfi
Name
Moch Lutfi
Twitter
@kaptenupi

Binary operator is a way to manipulate binary data. We already know there are &, |, ^, << and >> operators, but not all of us know the secret of each operators. Let's explore what tricks behind those operator using go language.

Multiply or Divide By 2

We already know how multiply 2 using * 2 or divide using / 2, but how we can achieve same with binary operator?

divide by 2shift right by 1someNumber >> 1
multiply by 2shift left by 1someNumber << 1

// multiply by 2
fmt.Println(4 << 1)
// Output: 8
// divide by 2
fmt.Println(4 >> 1)
// Output: 2

Change case of character

| | | | | ------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------ | ---- | ---- | | change to uppercase | use & with underscore | 'c' & '_' | | change to lowercase | use |withspace | 'A' | ' ' |


// to upper case char
fmt.Println((string)('c' & '_'))
// Output: C
// to lower case char
fmt.Println(string('A' | ' '))
// Output: a

Invert case of character

Invert char can be achieved by xor with space


fmt.Println(string('A' ^ ' '), string('b' ^ ' '))
// Output: a B

Get letter position

Get letter's position in alphabet (1-26) using and with 31


fmt.Println('z' & 31)
// Output: 26

Check number odd or even

Simple check if number is odd/even using and with 1, odd number will return true


// odd number return true
fmt.Println(7 & 1 > 0)
// Output: true
// even number return false
fmt.Println(8 & 1 > 0)
// Output: false

Try it yourself at https://play.golang.org/p/-wsIlDgBTmF (opens in a new tab)