A punctuator is a token that has syntactic and
semantic meaning to the compiler, but the exact significance depends
on the context. A punctuator can also be a token that is used in the
syntax of the preprocessor.
C99 and C++ define the following tokens
as punctuators, operators, or preprocessing tokens: Table 1. C and C++ punctuators| [ ] |
( ) |
{ } |
, |
: |
; |
|---|
| * |
= |
… |
# |
|
|
|---|
| . |
-> |
++ |
-- |
## |
|
|---|
| & |
+ |
- |
~ |
! |
|
|---|
| / |
% |
<< |
>> |
!= |
|
|---|
| < |
> |
<= |
>= |
== |
|
|---|
| ‸ |
| |
&& |
|| |
? |
|
|---|
| *= |
/= |
%= |
+= |
-= |
|
|---|
| <<= |
>>= |
&= |
‸= |
|= |
|
|---|
In addition to
the C99 preprocessing tokens, operators, and punctuators, C++ allows
the following tokens as punctuators:
Table 2. C++ punctuators| :: |
.* |
->* |
new |
delete |
|
|---|
| and |
and_eq |
bitand |
bitor |
comp |
|
|---|
| not |
not_eq |
or |
or_eq |
xor |
xor_eq |
|---|
Alternative tokens
Both C and C++ provide the following alternative representations
for some operators and punctuators. The alternative representations
are also known as digraphs. | Operator or punctuator |
Alternative representation |
|---|
| { |
<% |
| } |
%> |
| [ |
<: |
| ] |
:> |
| # |
%: |
| ## |
%:%: |
Note: The recognition of these alternative
representations is controlled by the DIGRAPHS option; for more information,
see
Digraph characters.
In addition to the operators and punctuators listed
above, C++ and C at the C99 language level provide the following alternative
representations. In C, they are defined as macros in the header file iso646.h. | Operator or punctuator |
Alternative representation |
|---|
| && |
and |
| | |
bitor |
| || |
or |
| ^ |
xor |
| ~ |
compl |
| & |
bitand |
| &= |
and_eq |
| |= |
or_eq |
| ^= |
xor_eq |
| ! |
not |
| != |
not_eq |