what if a negative number come after bitwise operator in java

Question

i get confused when i readed the code snippet

long lastWordMask  = WORD_MASK >>> -toIndex;

but toIndex is positive, i wonder what is going on if a negative number come after the operator(>>>)

any help will be appreciated

Assuming `toIndex` is within [0 .. 63], that means `WORD_MASK >>> (63 - toIndex)`. — harold, Sep 23 '13 at 15:32
yeah, i tried and get it, what harold said is right, thank both — wondering, Sep 26 '13 at 09:01

score -1 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 23 '13 at 15:21

If toIndex is positive and a negative (-) sign is placed before it, you have to imagine that the positive binary counterpart of toIndex is converted to it's negative binary counterpart. after that a right shift is then performed. try to manually calculate the result.

after that long litany, just try that line of code and compare to the result of your manual calculation.

if not, then you have to learn to calculate. :)

what if a negative number come after bitwise operator in java

1 Answers1