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iOS Swift Basics (retired) Operators Operator Precedence

Jordan Dearan
Jordan Dearan
621 Points
Posted by Jordan Dearan
Jordan Dearan
621 Points

why does Multiplication take precedence over addition/subtraction

why does Multiplication take precedence over addition/subtraction

2 Answers

Andrés Leal
Andrés Leal
9,563 Points
Andrés Leal
Andrés Leal
9,563 Points

It's known as the standard hierarchy of operations It says that first goes the Parenthesis -> Exponents and roots -> Multiplication and Division -> Addition and Subtraction So first you multiply or divide and then you make the addition or subtraction Hope it helps :D

Gavin Maxwell
Gavin Maxwell
3,521 Points
Gavin Maxwell
Gavin Maxwell
3,521 Points

It's worth mentioning this has nothing to do with Swift, iOS, or computers in general. Most kids are taught this mathematical rule in grade school. The reason for it is like any other rule where ambiguity is possible - to remove the ambiguity. Some calculators and programming languages utilise Reverse Polish Notation (RPN), or postfix notation - this avoids any ambiguity, without the need for parentheses, by pushing operands and then the operator onto a stack. There's lots of background on all of this if you do some searching.