C/C++ Puzzles: PART - 30

The "goes to" Operator in C/C++

What is a "goes to" operator in C/C++? Well most of you might not have heard about it. I have come across this operator (-->) in a C/C++ puzzle recently. The program is shown below.

#include<stdio.h>

int main()

{

   int x=10;

   while(x --> 0)

   {

       printf("%d ", x);

   }

   printf("\n\n\n");

   return 0;

}

Click here to download the C Program.

The Figure Below Shows the Output

The loop iterates until x reaches the value 0. Well the operator is not a standard operator in C. It is just post decrement ( -- ) followed by the greater than operator ( > ).To understand the working of the so called "goes to" operator consider the loop given below.

while(x--  >  0)

{

    printf("\n%d",x);

}

Also read the post on The Rule of Maximal Munch in C/C++ to understand the compilation process of operators.