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Reference > Language > Structure > Compound operators > Decrement

--

[Compound Operators]

Description

Decrements the value of a variable by 1.

Syntax

x--;  // decrement x by one and returns the old value of x
--x;  // decrement x by one and returns the new value of x

Parameters

x: variable. Allowed data types: integer, long (possibly unsigned)

Returns

The original or newly decremented value of the variable.

Example Code

x = 2;
y = --x;  // x now contains 1, y contains 1
y = x--;  // x contains 0, but y still contains 1

See also