Operator Precedence Table & Evaluation Order

1Concept

Java evaluates expressions strictly left-to-right following an established precedence hierarchy: Postfix (++), Unary (!, ~), Multiplicative (*, /), Additive (+, -), Shift (<<), Relational (<), Logical (&&, ||), Assignment (=).

2Architecture Diagram

Precedence Rank:
1. () Parentheses
2. ++ -- Postfix
3. * / % Multiplicative
4. + - Additive
5. == != Equality
6. && Logical AND
7. || Logical OR
8. = Assignment

3Code Example

public class PrecedenceDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int a = 5, b = 10, c = 2;
        int result = a + b * c;
        int resultWithParen = (a + b) * c;
        System.out.println("a + b * c = " + result);
        System.out.println("(a + b) * c = " + resultWithParen);
    }
}

4Expected Output

a + b * c = 25
(a + b) * c = 30

5Key Takeaways

• ✓Always use explicit parentheses in complex boolean or mathematical formulas.
• ✓Operands are evaluated left-to-right before operator execution.
• ✓Compound assignments (x += 5) perform implicit type casting automatically.