Java Operators : |= bitwise OR and assign example [duplicate]

Answer 1

a |= b is the same as a = (a | b)

Boolean Variables

In a boolean context, it means:

if (b) {
    a = true;
}

that is, if b is true then a will be true, otherwise a will be unmodified.

Bitwise Operations

In a bit wise context it means that every binary bit that's set in b will become set in a. Bits that are clear in b will be unmodified in a.

So if bit 0 is set in b, it'll also become set in a, per the example below:

• This will set the bottom bit of an integer:

  a |= 0x01

• This will clear the bottom bit:

  a &= ~0x01

• This will toggle the bottom bit:

  a ^= 0x01;