What Are the Differences Between ++i and i++ in C Programming?

Introduction

Understanding the distinction between pre-increment (++i) and post-increment (i++) is essential for mastering C programming. These operators may appear similar, but their behavior in expressions differs significantly…

What is Pre-Increment (++i)?

The pre-increment operator increases the value of the variable by one before using it in an expression…

What is Post-Increment (i++)?

The post-increment operator increases the value of the variable by one but uses the original value in the current expression…

Key Differences with Examples

Consider the following example to illustrate the difference:

int a = 5;
int b = ++a; // Pre-increment: a is incremented to 6, then b is assigned 6
int c = a++; // Post-increment: c is assigned 6, then a is incremented to 7

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