Introduction to JavaScript – Math Operators. Don’t worry! Math doesn’t need to be your strong-suit to learn JavaScript. However, there are operators you’ll need to know to make useful programs.
JavaScript supports the following math operators:
| Add: | + |
| Subtract: | – |
| Multiply: | * |
| Divide: | / |
These all work how you might guess: See sample code below.
console.log(3 + 4); // Equals 7 console.log(5 - 1); // Equals 4 console.log(4 * 2); // Equals 8 console.log(9 / 3); // Equals 3
In the example above, each line uses a different mathematical operator to log value to the console.
Go ahead and modify the code below and run it to view its output. Remember: the more you code the more you know.
JavaScript Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators perform arithmetic on numbers (literals or variables).
| Operator | Description |
|---|---|
| + | Addition |
| – | Subtraction |
| * | Multiplication |
| / | Division |
| % | Modulus (Remainder) |
| ++ | Increment |
| — | Decrement |
Arithmetic Operations
A typical arithmetic operation operates on two numbers.
The two numbers can be literals:
or variables:
or expressions:
The numbers (in an arithmetic operation) are called operands.
The operation (to be performed between the two operands) is defined by an operator.
| Operand | Operator | Operand |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | + | 50 |
The addition operator (+) adds numbers:
The subtraction operator (-) subtracts numbers.
The multiplication operator (*) multiplies numbers.
The division operator (/) divides numbers.
The modular operator (%) returns the division remainder.
The increment operator (++) increments numbers.
The decrement operator (–) decrements numbers.
Operator Precedence
Operator precedence describes the order in which operations are performed in an arithmetic expression.
Is the result of the example above the same as 150 * 3, or is it the same as 100 + 150?
Is the addition or the multiplication done first?
As in traditional school mathematics, the multiplication is done first.
Multiplication (*) and division (/) have higher precedence than addition (+) and subtraction (-).
And (as in school mathematics) the precedence can be changed by using parentheses:
When using parentheses, the operations inside the parentheses are computed first.
When many operations have the same precedence (like addition and subtraction), they are computed from left to right:
JavaScript Operator Precedence Values
| Value | Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | ( ) | Expression grouping | (3 + 4) |
| 19 | . | Member | person.name |
| 19 | [] | Member | person[“name”] |
| 19 | () | Function call | myFunction() |
| 19 | new | Create | new Date() |
| 17 | ++ | Postfix Increment | i++ |
| 17 | — | Postfix Decrement | i– |
| 16 | ++ | Prefix Increment | ++i |
| 16 | — | Prefix Decrement | –i |
| 16 | ! | Logical not | !(x==y) |
| 15 | typeof | Type | typeof x |
| 15 | ** | Exponentiation | 10 ** 2 |
| 14 | * | Multiplication | 10 * 5 |
| 14 | / | Division | 10 / 5 |
| 14 | % | Modulo division | 10 % 5 |
| 13 | + | Addition | 10 + 5 |
| 13 | – | Subtraction | 10 – 5 |
| 12 | << | Shift left | x << 2 |
| 12 | >> | Shift right | x >> 2 |
| 12 | >>> | Shift right (unsigned) | x >>> 2 |
| 11 | < | Less than | x < y |
| 11 | <= | Less than or equal | x <= y |
| 11 | > | Greater than | x > y |
| 11 | >= | Greater than or equal | x >= y |
| 10 | == | Equal | x == y |
| 10 | === | Strict equal | x === y |
| 10 | != | Unequal | x != y |
| 10 | !== | Strict unequal | x !== y |
| 6 | && | Logical and | x && y |
| 5 | || | Logical or | x || y |
| 3 | = | Assignment | x = y |
| 3 | += | Assignment | x += y |
| 3 | -= | Assignment | x -= y |
| 3 | *= | Assignment | x *= y |
| 3 | %= | Assignment | x %= y |
| 3 | <<= | Assignment | x <<= y |
| 3 | >>= | Assignment | x >>= y |
| 3 | >>>= | Assignment | x >>>= y |
| 3 | &= | Assignment | x &= y |
| 3 | ^= | Assignment | x ^= y |
| 3 | |= | Assignment | x |= y |
Pale red entries indicates experimental or proposed technology (ECMAScript 2016 or ES7)
Expressions in parentheses are fully computed before the value is used in the rest of the expression.
Related Links:
See the JavaScript Glossary on Basic Arithmetic
See the JavaScript Glossary on the Math Library
Introduction to JavaScript – Variables: Mathematical Assignment Operators
