What do a++ and ++a mean in C language?

In C language, a (last self-increment) is assigned first and then incremented, while a (front self-increment) is first incremented and then assigned.

The meaning of a and a in C language

In C language, a and a are two operations symbols, they increase the value of variable a. However, they differ in the way they are executed:

a (increment later)

• First assign the current value of variable a to a temporary variable .
• Increase the value of variable a by 1.
• Return the value of the temporary variable as the result of the expression.

Example:

<code class="c">int a = 5;
int b = a++; // b = 5, a = 6</code>

a (increment before)

• Change the value of variable a Increase by 1.
• Return the increased value of variable a as the result of the expression.

Example:

<code class="c">int a = 5;
int b = ++a; // b = 6, a = 6</code>

Usage scenario

• a (increase later) : Typically used when the original value of a variable needs to be used first and then incremented.
• a (pre-increment): Usually used when the value of a variable needs to be increased first and then the value is used.

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