Learning
Objectives - Boolean
Operators
Recognize the difference between = and ==
Be comfortable with evaluating boolean statements
Be comfortable with the AND and OR operators
Equal To & Not Equal To
Boolean operators are operators that return a boolean value (true or false).
Equal To
Java uses the == operator to determine equality. Beginners often confuse
the = and the == operators. Remember, = is the assignment operator.
int a = 5;
int b = 5;
System.out.println(a == b);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change b to 1?
Change a to boolean a = true; and b to boolean b = false;?
Not Equal To
The != operator checks to see if two values are not equal.
int a = 5;
int b = 5;
System.out.println(a != b);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change b to 1?
Change a to boolean a = true; and b to 1?
Change b to boolean b = false;?
Less Than & Less Than or Equal To
Less Than
The < operator is used to check if one value is less than another value.
int a = 5;
int b = 7;
System.out.println(a < b);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change b to 1?
Change b to 5?
Change b to false?
Less Than or Equal To
The <= operator is used to check if one value is less than or equal to another
value.
int a = 5;
int b = 7;
System.out.println(a <= b;)
challenge
What happens if you:
Change b to 1?
Change b to 5?
Change a to false and b to true?
Greater Than & Greater Than or
Equal To
Greater Than
The > operator is used to check if one value is greater than another value.
int a = 9;
int b = 17;
System.out.println(a > b);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change b to 1?
Change b to 9?
Change b to false?
Greater Than or Equal To
The >= operator is used to check if one value is greater than or equal to
another value.
int a = 9;
int b = 17;
System.out.println(a >= b);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change b to 1?
Change b to 9?
Change a to true and b to false?
And
The && Operator
The && operator allows for compound (more than one) boolean expressions.
All boolean expressions must be true in order for the whole thing to be
true. If only one boolean expressions is false, then the whole thing is false.
boolean a = true;
boolean b = true;
boolean c = false;
System.out.println(a && b);
How do I type &&?
It is towards the top of the keyboard, above the number 7. This means you
must hold shift and press the 7 key to type &.
challenge
What happens if you:
Change the code to System.out.println(a && c);?
Change the code to System.out.println(c && b);?
Multiple && Statements
You can chain several && statements together. They are evaluated in a left-
to-right manner.
boolean a = true;
boolean b = true;
boolean c = false;
System.out.println(a && b && c);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change the code to System.out.println(a && b && a && b && a);?
Change the code to System.out.println(a && b && a && b && c);?
Or
The || Operator
The || operator allows for compound (more than one) boolean expressions.
If only one boolean expressions is true, then the whole thing is true. To be
false, all boolean expressions must be false.
boolean a = true;
boolean b = true;
boolean c = false;
boolean d = false;
System.out.println(a || b);
How do I type ||?
It is on the right-hand side, below the backspace/delete key and above the
enter/return key. The | symbol is the line above the </code>. This means
you must hold shift and press the </code> key to type |.
challenge
What happens if you:
Change the code to System.out.println(a || c);?
Change the code to System.out.println(c || d);?
Multiple || Statements
You can chain several || statements together. They are evaluated in a left-to-
right manner.
boolean a = true;
boolean b = true;
boolean c = false;
System.out.println(a || b || c);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change the code to
System.out.println(a || c || c || c || c);?
Change the code to
System.out.println(c && c && c && c && c);?
Not
The ! Operator
The ! operator produces the opposite of the boolean expression that it
modifies.
System.out.println(! true);
challenge
What happens if you:
Change the code to System.out.println(! true && false);?
Change the code to System.out.println(! (true && false));?
Change the code to System.out.println(! ! true);?
Short-Circuiting
Short Circuiting
If Java can determine the result of a boolean expression before evaluating
the entire thing, it will stop and return the value.
Short Circuiting
System.out.println( false
&&
/*Java never reaches this line*/ true);
System.out.println( true
||
/*Java never reaches this line*/ false);
