Operator Precedence

Operator precedence is a fundamental concept in C that defines the order in which operators are evaluated in a complex expression. Just like in standard mathematics where multiplication is performed before addition, C has a well-defined hierarchy for its operators. This ensures that an expression like `a + b * c` is interpreted unambiguously as `a + (b * c)`. Understanding this hierarchy is essential for writing correct and predictable code. Operators with higher precedence are evaluated before operators with lower precedence. For example, the multiplicative operators (`*`, `/`, `%`) have higher precedence than the additive operators (`+`, `-`). Unary operators, like `!` (logical NOT), `++`, and `--`, have very high precedence. Relational operators (`<`, `>`) have higher precedence than equality operators (`==`, `!=`). When two operators have the same precedence level, their evaluation order is determined by their associativity. Most operators in C are left-to-right associative, meaning they are evaluated from left to right. For example, in `a - b + c`, subtraction is performed first, and then addition. A few operators, notably the assignment operators and the unary operators, are right-to-left associative. While it is beneficial to have a general idea of the precedence rules, it is always a good practice to use parentheses `()` to explicitly define the order of evaluation. Parentheses have the highest precedence and can be used to override the default rules. This not only guarantees the intended order of operations but also makes the code much more readable and easier for others to understand, reducing the chance of subtle logical errors.