1. What is Bitwise Right Shift?

The bitwise right shift operation (>>) shifts the bits of a number to the right by a specified number of positions. Each shift to the right divides the number by 2 (for positive numbers), discarding the remainder.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator performs the bitwise right shift operation:

Where:

• \( num \) — The integer number to be shifted
• \( bits \) — Number of positions to shift right (must be ≥ 0)

Explanation: For each shift, the number is effectively divided by 2 (with floor division for positive numbers). The rightmost bits are discarded, and zeros are shifted in from the left.

3. Importance of Bitwise Operations

Details: Bitwise operations are fundamental in low-level programming, hardware manipulation, cryptography, and optimization. Right shifts are particularly useful for fast division by powers of 2.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter any integer number and a non-negative number of bits to shift. The calculator will show the result of the right shift operation.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What happens when you right shift a negative number?
A: The behavior depends on the system. Most systems perform an arithmetic right shift (preserving the sign bit), but this is implementation-dependent.

Q2: How is right shift different from division by 2?
A: For positive numbers, right shift by 1 is equivalent to floor division by 2. However, for negative numbers, the behavior may differ.

Q3: What's the maximum number of bits I can shift?
A: Technically, you can shift up to the bit width of the integer type (usually 31 or 63 bits), but shifting by more than the bit width is undefined behavior.

Q4: What happens if I shift by 0 bits?
A: The number remains unchanged as no shifting occurs.

Q5: When would I use right shift in real programming?
A: Common uses include optimizing division by powers of 2, extracting specific bits from packed data, and various bit manipulation algorithms.