Java Arithmetic Operator Part I - An overview

Let us now learn about a special operator used in most programming languages, called the mod operator.

Video Transcript

Now, suppose you have a problem statement in which you need to find out whether a given number is odd or even. So what would you do when it comes to normal mathematics? Well, you would divide that number by two, and if the remainder is zero, then you would say that it's an even number because it is divisible by two. And if the remainder is one, then it means that that number is odd number, since it is not completely divisible by two. So can I have an arithmetic operator which can give me the remainder of two numbers when they are divided? Well, yes, this is known as the mod operator in Java. So I say that suppose I have an int x, which is equal to, say, five. Now, I wish to check whether this x is an odd number or an even number. So basically, I need to divide x by two and check what the remainder will be. So in this case, let me store the remainder into an integer data type. Let me call this variable remainder REM. I say intrem is equal to the remainder when x is divided by two. So I would say intrem is equal to x percentage sine two. So what this percentage operator does is that it divides x by two and whatever is the result, whatever is the remainder, that remainder is stored into this particular variable. So in this case, when five percentage two is done, that is five mod, two is done. The remainder, when five is divided by two, is one. So in this case, the value one will be contained inside REM. So this particular mod operator is useful on those cases in which you need to play around with the remainder of two values when they are divided with each other zero. So this is particularly useful in those cases in which you need to check the criteria such as divisibility by two, seven or any other number. So this is how the mod operator works in Java.

Video Recap

• Learn how to check if a number is odd or even in Java.

• Divide the number by 2 and check the remainder to determine if it is even (remainder = 0) or odd (remainder = 1).

• Use the mod operator (%) in Java to get the remainder of two numbers when divided.

• Store the remainder in a variable using int (rem) = x % 2.

• The mod operator is useful for checking divisibility by two, seven, or any other number.

You learned that the mod operator is used to store the remainder of the division between two numbers. It is very useful in cases such as trying to find an odd number or checking divisibility,

Let us now see all these operators in action:

You can download the following two java files which will be very useful to you while watching the video. Right click on the java file and open it with IntelliJ. Please be careful with the name of the java file. The name of the java file should exactly be same as the class name inside it for the code to run. So make changes accordingly.