Dan's exam

Question 17
class A {
static boolean a;
static boolean b;
static boolean c;
public static void main (String[] args) {
boolean x = (a = true) || (b = true) && (c = true);
System.out.print(a + "," + b + "," + c);
}
}

What is the result of attempting to compile and run the above program?
a. Prints: false,false,false
b. Prints: false,false,true
c. Prints: false,true,false
d. Prints: false,true,true
e. Prints: true,false,false
f. Prints: true,false,true
g. Prints: true,true,false
h. Prints: true,true,true
i. Runtime error
j. Compiler error
k. None of the above

I thought the answer was h because && has higher precedence than || according to the table on this webpage http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/expressions.html
But Dan's solutions say the answer is e.
Is this a mistake? If not can someone please explain it to me?
Thanks

Two things:
1- it's like saying
if (a=true) OR( (b = true) AND (c = true) )

2-Short circuit operator (||). You can forget about the right side, after the OR operator, since the first is true, not evaluating the rest.
Hope it helps
[ July 10, 2003: Message edited by: Andres Gonzalez ]

1- it's like saying
if (a=true) OR( (b = true) AND (c = true) )

Why can you say this? The way I see it && has precedence over || and thus should be evaluated before ||.
I understand that the way your wrote it would only evaluate a=true because of the short circuit, but since it was not written this way in the question why would you decide to group the expressions as you wrote it?

Please refer to page 216 of KnB book:
if ((x>3) && (y<2) | doStuff())

if (x>3)and either (y<2) or the result of doStuff() is true, then....

does that make sense?

Forgot to mention. evaluations are from left to right as well.
cheers
[ July 10, 2003: Message edited by: Andres Gonzalez ]

Originally posted by Damien Howard:

The way I see it && has precedence over || and thus should be evaluated before ||.

Hi Damien,
I think thats the very reason why the expression has to be grouped that way.
This expression
boolean b = a || c && d;
is equivalent to this:
boolean b = a || (c && d);
Much like this expression
int a = c + d*e;
is equivalent to this
int a = c + (d*e);
Hope that helps.

This expression
boolean b = a || c && d;
is equivalent to this:
boolean b = a || (c && d);
Much like this expression
int a = c + d*e;
is equivalent to this
int a = c + (d*e);
Hope that helps.

Exactly and in the above case you evaluate * first because it has precedence, so following the same logic b&&c should be evaluated first in my opinion.
As to the example Andres referred to in KNB's book pg 216, that is a different example, because | has precedence over && or ||.
precedence order is &, ^, |, &&, ||

Hi Damien,
Follow this link and go to Marlene's post. She got a very good explanation of what operator precedence means.

Hi Damien
I am not sure about my answer but just trying.
I think whats happening is that a which is true is evaluated first becasue b and c are || operands.
So you can consider this as a || (b && c). Now the term (b && c) is also acting as the second operand for the ||. Now if a is false then the second operand of || would be evaluated but that is not the case. So (b && c) is not being evaluated. So it appears that the precedence is not being followed.
[ July 10, 2003: Message edited by: Anupam Sinha ]

Operator precedence is about how to add extra parentheses, *not* about the order of evaluation.

excellent link...

Thanks, Alton. That link was helpful

Thanks,
poor (Antonym) link.
btw Antonym isn't cast.. ha