1. What Is Bitwise OR?

The Bitwise OR operation is a binary operation that takes two equal-length binary representations and performs the logical inclusive OR operation on each pair of corresponding bits. The result in each position is 1 if the first bit is 1 or the second bit is 1 or both are 1; otherwise, the result is 0.

2. How Bitwise OR Works

The Bitwise OR operation follows these rules:

Example: 5 | 3

• 5 in binary: 0101
• 3 in binary: 0011
• Result: 0111 (which is 7 in decimal)

3. Practical Applications

Details: Bitwise OR is commonly used in:

• Setting specific bits in a register (flag setting)
• Combining multiple bitmask values
• Low-level programming and hardware control
• Network protocols and data encoding

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter two positive integers to see their Bitwise OR result. The calculator will also show the binary representations of the inputs and result.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's the difference between logical OR and bitwise OR?
A: Logical OR (||) operates on boolean values, while bitwise OR (|) operates on the individual bits of integer values.

Q2: Can I use negative numbers with bitwise OR?
A: Yes, but they're represented in two's complement form, which might produce unexpected results if you're not familiar with binary representations of negative numbers.

Q3: When would I use bitwise OR in programming?
A: Common uses include setting flags, combining permissions, or working with hardware registers where individual bits control specific features.

Q4: How does bitwise OR differ from bitwise AND?
A: OR sets a bit to 1 if either input bit is 1, while AND only sets it to 1 if both input bits are 1.

Q5: What's the result of ORing a number with itself?
A: ORing any number with itself returns the same number (A | A = A).