C++ Bitwise OR Operator

In this tutorial, you shall learn about Bitwise OR Operator in C++ programming language, its syntax, and how to use this operator with the help of examples.

C++ Bitwise OR

C++ Bitwise OR Operator is used to perform OR operation between the respective bits of given operands.

Syntax

The syntax for Bitwise OR operation between x and y operands is

x | y

The operands can be of type int or char. Bitwise OR operator returns a value of type same as that of the given operands.

Truth Table

The following table illustrates the output of OR operation between two bits.

bit1	bit2	bit1 | bit2
0	0	0
0	1	1
1	0	1
1	1	1

Examples

1. Bitwise OR between two integer values

In the following example, we take integer values in x and y, and find the bitwise OR operation between x and y.

main.cpp

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int x = 5;
    int y = 9;
    int result = x | y;
    cout << "Result : " << result << endl;
}

Output

Result : 1
Program ended with exit code: 0

2. Bitwise OR between two char values

In the following example, we take char values in x and y, and find the bitwise OR operation between x and y.

main.cpp

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    char x = 'a';
    char y = 'b';
    int result = x | y;
    cout << "Result : " << result << endl;
}

Output

Result : 99
Program ended with exit code: 0

Conclusion

In this C++ Tutorial, we learned what Bitwise OR Operator is, its syntax, and how to use this operator in C++ programs, with the help of examples.