Demystifying bitwise operations, a gentle C tutorial #Programming
Andrei Ciobanu provides a thorough tutorial on using bitwise operations on data in C:
Bitwise operations are a fundamental part of Computer Science. They help Software Engineers to have a deeper understanding of how computers represent and manipulate data, and they are crucial when writing performance-critical code. Truth being said, nowadays, they are rarely used in the business code we write, and they stay hidden in libraries, frameworks, or low-level system programming codebases.
The reason is simple: writing code that operates on bits can be tedious, less readable, not always portable, and, most importantly, error-prone. Modern programming languages nowadays have higher-level abstractions that replace the need for bitwise operations and “constructs”, and trading (potential) small performance and memory gains for readability is not such a bad deal. Plus, compilers are more intelligent nowadays and can optimise your code in ways you (and I) cannot even imagine.
The article is not about why we shouldn’t ever touch them; on the contrary, it is about why they are cool and how they can make specific code snippets orders of magnitude faster than the “higher-level-readable-modern approach”. If you are a programmer who enjoys competitive programming, knowing bitwise operations (in case you don’t know about them already) will help you write more efficient code.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: MicroPython Pico W Bluetooth, CircuitPython 8.0.4 and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
