It has this general form:
value << num
The following code shifts byte type variable.
public class Main {
public static void main(String args[]) {
byte a = 64, b;
int i;
i = a << 2;
b = (byte) (a << 2);
System.out.println("Original value of a: " + a);
System.out.println("i and b: " + i + " " + b);
}
}
The output generated by this program is shown here:
Original value of a: 64
i and b: 256 0
Each left shift has the effect of doubling the original value. The following program illustrates this point:
public class Main {
public static void main(String args[]) {
int num = 0xFFFFFFF;
for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
num = num << 1;
System.out.println(num);
}
}
}
The program generates the following output:
536870910
1073741820
2147483640
-16