What does x-- mean in C language?

In C language, x-- is the decrement operator, which subtracts 1 from the variable x. It first copies the value of x, then subtracts 1 from x, and finally returns the copied value.

In C language, x--

In C language, x-- is a decrement operator, similar to --x. It subtracts 1 from the value of variable x.

Syntax

x--

How it works

When using When x--, the compiler will perform the following operations:

1. Copy the current value of x to a temporary variable.
2. Subtract 1 from the value of x.
3. Return the value in the temporary variable.

Example

<code class="c">int x = 5;
int y = x--; // y = 5, x = 4</code>

In the above example, x--decreases the value of x from 5 to 4, and returns the original value of 5 as the value of y.

Prefix and suffix decrement

It is worth noting that the difference between --x and x-- is Sequence of operations. --x is the prefix decrement operator, which decrements the value of the variable before it is used. On the other hand, x-- is a postfix decrement operator that decrements the value of a variable after it has been used.

Purpose

x-- is usually used for the following purposes:

• Decrementing the counter in a loop.
• Decrease the index in an array or list.
• Decrease the value of the variable.

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