Operating on bits of large numbers

Question

Operating on bits of large numbers

When working with bitwise operations in JavaScript, some unexpected behaviors may arise:

> 0b1111
15
> 0b1111 & 0b1111
15

However, for larger numbers like this:

> 0b11111111111111111111111111111111
4294967295
> 0b11111111111111111111111111111111 & 0b11111111111111111111111111111111
-1

If you are experiencing issues with precision and negative results in such cases, consider how to safely perform bitwise operations on large numbers exceeding 2^32 in JavaScript.

Update: It is worth noting that the value falls below Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER, indicating there should not be a loss of precision here.

javascript bitwise-operators

Answer 1

Answer №1

Why is this happening?

When working with JavaScript's bitwise operators, it's important to note that the result will be treated as a signed 32-bit number (with the exception of the >>> operator). However, overall, the result is accurate.

Is there a safe way to perform bitwise operations on large (up to 2^32) numbers in Javascript?

To safely handle bitwise operations on large numbers, apply >>> 0 to the result so it is interpreted as an unsigned 32-bit number:

let res = (0b11111111111111111111111111111111 
            & 0b11111111111111111111111111111111) >>> 0;

console.log(res);

Answer 2

Why is this happening?

When working with JavaScript's bitwise operators, it's important to note that the result will be treated as a signed 32-bit number (with the exception of the >>> operator). However, overall, the result is accurate.

Is there a safe way to perform bitwise operations on large (up to 2^32) numbers in Javascript?

To safely handle bitwise operations on large numbers, apply >>> 0 to the result so it is interpreted as an unsigned 32-bit number:

let res = (0b11111111111111111111111111111111 
            & 0b11111111111111111111111111111111) >>> 0;

console.log(res);

Operating on bits of large numbers

Answer №1

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