Python Bitwise Operators

Python Bitwise operators works bit by bit. Python bitwise operators first convert integers into a binary number and then work on those binary number bit by bit . After the operation it converts the new binary number into a decimal number and returns the decimal number .Below is a list of all Python bitwise operators and their applications –

The values of the variables x and y used in the table are 6 and 10 respectively whose binary values are 0110 and 1010 respectively.

Operator(name)	Example	Description	Result
&(Bitwise AND)	x & y	Set each bit to 1 if both bits are 1 else 0	6 & 10 = 0110 & 1010 = 0010 = 2
|(Bitwise OR)	x | y	Set each bit to 1 if any of the bits is 1 else 0	6 | 10 = 0110 | 1010 = 1110 = 14
~(Bitwise NOT or one’s complement)	~ x	Returns -(x +1)	~ 6 = ~ 0110 = -(0110+1) = -0111 = -7 , ~10 = ~1010 = -(1010+1) = -1011 = -11
^(Bitwise XOR)	x ^ y	Set each bit to 1 if only one of two bits is 1 else 0	6 ^ 10 = 0110 ^ 1010 = 1100 = 12
<<(Bitwise Left Shift)	x << 2	Shift left by pushing zeros at the right side	6 << 2 = 0110 << 2 = 011000 = 24 ,10 << 2 = 1010 <<2 = 101000 = 40
>>(Bitwise Right Shift)	x >> 2	Shift right by removing bits from right side	6 >> 2 = 0110 >> 2 = 01 = 1 ,10 >> 2 = 1010 >> 2 = 10 = 2

Now we will see about all the logical operators in details with code –

Bitwise AND(&) operator

Python Bitwise AND(&) operator sets each bit to 1 if both the bits are 1 else 0 .

Example 1:

x=6
y=10
print("x & y =",x & y)

x & y = 2

In the above code value of x and y are 6 and 10 respectively . During bitwise AND(&) operation it converts the value of x and y into 0110 and 1010 respectively and returns a binary number 0010 whose decimal equivalent is 2 . we can see the following image as reference –

We can also refer the below table for bitwise AND(&) operator –

Variable1	Variable2	Result
1	1	1
1	0	0
0	1	0
0	0	0

Bitwise OR(|) operator

Python Bitwise OR(|) operator sets each bit to 1 if any of the bits is 1 else 0

Example 1:

print("x | y =",x | y)

x | y = 14

In the above code bitwise OR(|) operators returns 14 . We can see the following image as reference –

We can also refer the below table for bitwise OR(|) operator –

Variable1	Variable2	Result
1	1	1
1	0	1
0	1	1
0	0	0

Bitwise NOT(~) operator

Python Bitwise NOT(~) operator returns -(x+1) if we give x after bitwise NOT(~) operator .

Example 1:

print("~ x =",~ x)
print("~ y =",~ y)

~ x = -7
~ y = -11

In the above code ~x returns -7 and ~y returns -11 . We can see the following image as reference –

Bitwise XOR(^) operator

Bitwise XOR(^) operator sets each bit to 1 if only one of two bits is 1 else 0

Example 1:

print("x ^ y =",x ^ y)

x ^ y = 12

In the above code bitwise XOR(^) operator returns 12 . We can see the following image as reference –

We can also refer the below table for bitwise XOR(^) operator –

Variable1	Variable2	Result
1	1	0
1	0	1
0	1	1
0	0	0

Bitwise Left Shift(<<) operator

Python Bitwise Left Shift(<<) operator shifts each bit at left by pushing zeros at the right side

Example 1:

x=13
print("x << 1 =",x << 1)
print("x << 2 =",x << 2)

x << 1 = 26
x << 2 = 52

In the above code we take the value of x as 13 whose binary equivalent is 1101 . Here , x<<1 returns 26 and x<<2 returns 52 . We can see the following image as reference –

Note :

We can see from the above example whenever we Left Shift(<<) any number by 1 place the returned number is equal to 2 times of the given number .

Bitwise Right Shift(>>) operator

Python Bitwise Right Shift(>>) operator shifts each bit at right by removing the rightmost bit .

Example 1:

print("x >> 1 =",x >> 1)
print("x >> 2 =",x >> 2)

x >> 1 = 6
x >> 2 = 3

In the above code x>>1 returns 6 and x>>2 returns 3 . We can see the following image as reference –

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