What does --> mean in Java?

Question

for (int i = 99; i --> 0;) {
    System.out.println(i);
}

Above code works, and has the exactly same result of

for (int i = 99; i >= 0; i--) {
    System.out.println(i);
}

What does the syntax "-->" originally mean in Java? Since almost reachable search engines disallow special characters, I cannot seem to find the answer.

Great senior developers write their code so that it can be read by others....only a junior would want to use this, to make him look like a pro... — Amos Kosgei, Oct 12 '18 at 07:43

score 47 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

47

`-->` is not a new operator.

It is just a conjunction of the operators -- and >.

You first compare, and then decrement the variable.

That is,

i --> 0

becomes effectively

i > 0; //Compare
i--; //and decrement

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Apr 03 '15 at 09:34

shauryachats

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6

It's the reverse actually. First comparison, then decrement. – Rohit Jain Apr 03 '15 at 09:39
1

Didn't downvote, but whoever did, that's probably because you're answer is still not fully current. Your 3rd statement still needs change. – Rohit Jain Apr 03 '15 at 09:42

score 10 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 31 '20 at 07:52

10

i --> 0 means i>0 and i-- :: i is decremented first (returns non-decremented value) and then compared to 0.

This is a conjunction.

edited Jul 31 '20 at 07:52

Roberto Caboni

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answered Apr 03 '15 at 09:34

Eran

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Rahul Tripathi · Answer 3 · 2015-04-03T09:43:22.353

5

--> is not any operator. It is just the cocatenation of -- and >.

So when you write

i-->0 it means compare the value of i and then decrement it.

So for better readability it can be written as

for (int i = 99; (i--)> 0;) {

edited Apr 03 '15 at 09:43

answered Apr 03 '15 at 09:37

Rahul Tripathi

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score 3 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 31 '20 at 09:39

3

Notice here the increment/decrement place does not appear. So it decrements i by 1 but returns same non-decremented value and then compares i with 0.

The comparison checks whether i is greater than 0 after the decrement is performed(but not returned).

edited Jul 31 '20 at 09:39

tr_abhishek

17
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answered Apr 03 '15 at 09:35

Mehmood Arbaz

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score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Jul 31 '20 at 07:52

2

i-- > 0

i-- is post decrement

> is greater than

for (initialization; boolean expression; updation){
 `//some code`
}

So you did initialization and but you checked boolean expression and updated in one step so it worked.

edited Jul 31 '20 at 07:52

tr_abhishek

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answered Apr 03 '15 at 09:36

singhakash

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score 1 · Answer 6 · edited Jul 30 '20 at 23:07

1

There is no operator as --> it's simply i-- and i>0; first, it will do post decrement. then it will check the condition and compare it with 0 whether it's greater than or not.

Remember it's value will not be changed while comparison (i will be 1) after comparison it will decrement the value (i will now be 0) and printed.

edited Jul 30 '20 at 23:07

tr_abhishek

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answered Apr 03 '15 at 09:36

Prashant

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First it will do the comparison, then the post-decrement. That's what 'post' means. – user207421 Jul 30 '20 at 23:37

What does --> mean in Java?

6 Answers6

--> is not a new operator.

`-->` is not a new operator.