Question 1

What bitwise operations does this calculator support?

Accepted Answer

The calculator supports AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, XNOR, NOT, left shift (<<), and right shift (>>). Results are shown simultaneously in decimal, binary, hexadecimal, and octal, so you can use the output in any number base you need.

Question 2

How does the bitwise AND operation work?

Accepted Answer

AND compares each bit pair and outputs 1 only if both input bits are 1. For example, 12 AND 10: 1100 AND 1010 = 1000 = 8. It is commonly used to extract or test specific bits (bit masking) — for example, value & 0xFF extracts the lowest byte.

Question 3

How does XOR work and when is it useful?

Accepted Answer

XOR (exclusive OR) outputs 1 when the bits differ, and 0 when they match. For example, 0101 XOR 0011 = 0110. XOR is used in cryptography (simple encryption/decryption), checksums, toggling bits, and detecting differences between two values.

Question 4

What is a bit shift and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

A left shift (<<) moves all bits to the left by N positions, filling with zeros on the right — equivalent to multiplying by 2ᴺ. A right shift (>>) moves bits right, discarding the lowest bits — equivalent to dividing by 2ᴺ (integer). For example, 1 << 3 = 8, and 16 >> 2 = 4.

Question 5

What is the difference between AND and NAND?

Accepted Answer

NAND (Not AND) is the bitwise NOT of AND. Where AND gives 1 only when both bits are 1, NAND gives 0 only in that case, and 1 otherwise. In digital circuit design, NAND gates are universal — any logic function can be built from NAND gates alone. NAND is to AND as NOR is to OR.

Bitwise Calculator

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