Swift5.3 — 2.Basic Operators

An operator is a special symbol or phrase that you use to check, change, or combine values. For example, the addition operator (+) adds two numbers, and the logical AND operator (&&) combines two Boolean values.

let i = 1 + 2
if student && male

Content

1. Terminology
2. Assignment Operator
3. Arithmetic Operators
4. Range Operators
5. Logical Operators

1. Terminology

• unary operators

Operate on a single target (such as -a). Unary prefix operators appear immediately before their target ( such as !b ), and unary postfix operators appear immediately after their target ( such as c!)

• binary operators

Operate on two targets (such as 2 + 3). Binary operators are infix because they appear in between their two targets.

• ternary operators

Operate on three targets. Swift has only one ternary operator, the ternary conditional operator ( a ? b : c)

2. Assignment Operator

The assignment operator (left = right) initializes or updates the value of left with the value of right.

let right= 10
var left = 5
left = right
// left is now equal to 10

If the right side of the assignment is tuple with multiple values, its elements can be decomposed into multiple constants or variables at once

let (x, y) = (1, 2)
// x is equal to 1, and y is equal to 2

operator ( = ) is not same as operator ( == ). So the following statement is not valid

if x = y{
    // This is not valid, because x = y does not return a value
}

3. Arithmetic Operators

Swift supports the four standard arithmetic operators +, — , *, /

1 + 2        // equals 3
5 - 3        // equals 2
2 * 3        // equals 6
10.0 / 2.5   // equals 4.0

Addition operator is also supported for String concatenation

"hello, " + "world"    // equals "hello, world"

Remainder Operator

The remainder operator ( a % b ) works out how many multiples of b will fit inside a and returns the value that is left over (known as the remainder)

9 % 4    // equals 1  ( 9 = 4 * 2 + 1 , remainder is 1)
10 % 3   // equals 1  ( 10 = 3 * 3 + 1, remainder is 1)
8 % 3    // equals 2  ( 8 = 3 * 2 + 2, remainder is 2)
-9 % 4   // equals -1 ( -9 = 4 * -2 + (-1), remainder is -1)

Unary Plus, Minus Operator

The sign of a numeric value can be toggled using a prefixed -

let three = 3
let minusThree = -three
let plusThree = -minusThree
let minusSix = -6
let alsoMinusSix = +minusSix   // alsoMinusSix equals -6
// Unary plus operator doesn't actually do anything. But you still can use it to provide symmetry in your code for positive numbers.

Compound Assignment Operators

Swift supports the following comparison operators

• Equal to ( a == b )
• Not equal to ( a != b )
• Greater than ( a > b )
• Less than ( a < b )
• Greater than or equal to ( a > = b )
• Less than or equal to ( a < = b )

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1 == 1 // true because 1 is equal to 1
2 != 1   // true because 2 is not equal to 1
2 > 1    // true because 2 is greater than 1
1 < 2    // true because 1 is less than 2
1 >= 1   // true because 1 is greater than or equal to 1
2 <= 1   // false because 2 is not less than or equal to 1

Comparison operators are often used in conditional statements, such as the if statement

let name = "world"
if name == "world" {
    print("hello, world")
}

You can compare two tuples if they have the same type and the same number of values. Tuples are compared from left to right, one value at a time, until the comparison finds two values that aren’t equal. Bool type can not be compared

(1, "zebra") < (2, "apple")
// true, 1 is less than 2; "zebra" and "apple" are not compared
(3, "apple") < (3, "bird")
// true, 3 is equal to 3, and "apple" is less than "bird"
(4, "dog") == (4, "dog")
// true, 4 is equal to 4, and "dog" is equal to "dog"
("blue", false) < ("purple", true)
// Error, Boolean values can't be compared

Ternary Conditional Operator

The ternary conditional operator is a special operator with three parts, which takes the form “ condition ? codeForTrue : codeForFalse ”. If condition is true it evaluates codeForTrue and return its value; otherwise, it evaluates codeForFalse and return its value

if question{
    answer1
} else{
    answer2
}
// This can be written in Ternary conditional operator
question? answer1 : answer2
// Examples
let height = 40
let header = true
let width = height + (header ? 50: 20)
// width is equal to 90

Nil-Coalescing Operator

The nil-coalescing operator ( a ?? b ) unwraps an optional a if it contains a value, or returns a default value b if a is nil. If the value of a is non-nil, the value of b is not evaluated.

var c = a??b
var c = a != nil ? a! : b

The example below uses the nil-coalescing operator to choose between a default color name and an optional user-defined color name

let defaultColorName = "red"
var userDefinedColorName: String?    // defaults to nil
var colorNameToUse = userDefinedColorName ?? defaultColorName
// userDefinedColorName is nil, so colorNameToUse is set to the default of "red"

4. Range Operators

Swift includes several range operators, which are shortcuts for expressing a range of values.

Closed Range Operator

The closed range operator ( a…b ) defines a range that runs from a to b, and includes the values a and b.

for index in 1...3{
    print("\(index) times 5 is \(index*5)")
}
// 1 times 5 is 5
// 2 times 5 is 10
// 3 times 5 is 15

Half-Open Range Operator

The half-open range operator ( a..<b ) defines a range that runs from a to b, but doesn’t include b.

let names = ["Anna", "Alex", "Brian", "Jack"]
for i in 0..<names.count{
    print("Person \(i+1) is called \(names[i])")
}
// Person 1 is called Anna
// Person 2 is called Alex
// Person 3 is called Brian
// Person 4 is called Jack

One-Sided Ranges

The closed range operator has an alternative form for ranges that continue as far as possible in one direction.

for name in names[2...]{
    print(name)
}
// Brian
// Jack
for name in names[...2]{
    print(name)
}
// Anna
// Alex
// Brian
for name in names[..<2]{
    print(name)
}
// Anna
// Alex

5. Logical Operators

Logical NOT Operator

The logical NOT operator ( !a ) inverts a Boolean value so that true becomes false, and false becomes true.

let allowedEntry = false
if !allowedEntry {
    print("ACCESS DENIED")
}
// !allowedEntry evaluates as true
// Prints "ACCESS DENIED"

Logical AND Operator

The logical AND operator ( a && b ) creates logical expressions where both values must be true for the overall expression to also be true.

let enteredDoorCode = true
let passedRetinaScan = false
if enteredDoorCode && passedRetinaScan{
    print("Welcome!")
} else{
    print("ACCESS DENIED")
}
// Prints "ACCESS DENIED"

Logical OR Operator

The logical OR operator ( a || b ) creates logical expressions where one of the two values has to be true for the overall expression to also be true.

let enteredDoorCode = true
let passedRetinaScan = false
if enteredDoorCode ||passedRetinaScan{
    print("Welcome!")
} else{
    print("ACCESS DENIED")
}
// Prints "Welcome!"