Shorthands

C offers the programmer shortened versions of common statements:

a += b; /* equivalent to a = a + b */ a -= b; /* equivalent to a = a - b */ a *= b; /* equivalent to a = a * b */ a /= b; /* equivalent to a = a / b */ a &= b; /* equivalent to a = a & b */ a |= b; /* equivalent to a = a | b */ a ^= b; /* equivalent to a = a ^ b */

A useful syntax for small if constructions is the expression

b ? c : d /* evaluates to c if b is true, and d otherwise */

Another very common syntax is the expression i++. This evaluates to i, but then increments i by 1, and ++i which first increments i, and then returns the new value. i can be decremented using the expressions i-- and --i, which behave analogously.