The bit shifts are sometimes considered bitwise operations, because they operate on the binary representation of an integer instead of its numerical value; however, the bit shifts do not operate on pairs of corresponding bits, and therefore cannot properly be called bit-wise. In these operations the digits are moved, or shifted, to the left or right. Registers in a computer processor have a fixed width, so some bits will be "shifted out" of the register at one end, while the same number of bits are "shifted in" from the other end; the differences between bit shift operators lie in how they determine the values of the shifted-in bits.
Read more about this topic: Bitwise Operation
Famous quotes containing the words bit and/or shifts:
“We will get everything out of her that you can squeeze out of a lemon and a bit more.... I will squeeze her until you can hear the pips squeak.”
—Eric, Sir Geddes (1875–1937)
“I have rather a strange objection to talking from the back platform of a train.... It changes too often. It moves around and shifts its ground too often. I like a platform that stays put.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)