What Does the ^ (Caret) Symbol Do in JavaScript

What does the caret symbol (^) do in JavaScript?

It means bitwise XOR.

EDIT: Fixed link

What does the ^ (caret) symbol do in JavaScript?

The ^ operator is the bitwise XOR operator. To square a value, use Math.pow:

var altura2 = Math.pow($('#ddl_altura').attr("value")/100, 2);

Meaning and function of ^ (caret) sign in javascript

It is the bitwise XOR operator. From the MDN docs:

[Bitwise XOR] returns a one in each bit position for which the corresponding bits of
either but not both operands are ones.

Where the operands are whatever is on the left or right of the operator.

For example, if we have two bytes:

A 11001100
B 10101010

We end up with

Q 01100110

If a bit in A is set OR a bit in B is set, but NOT both, then the result is a 1, otherwise it is 0.

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In the example you give, it will take the binary representation of the ASCII character code from d.charCodeAt(i) and k.charCodeAt(i) and XOR them. It does the same in Python, C++ and most other languages. It is not to be confused with the exponential operator in maths-related contexts; languages will provide a pow() function or similar. JavaScript for one has Math.pow(base, exponent).

What does (x^2) do in javascript?

That is a bitwise XOR. Use Math.pow for exponents.

If you do 3^2 you are actually doing:

3 XOR 2

Computers use Binary so they see

11 XOR 10

Put that into a table:

11     1 ^ 0 = 1
10     1 ^ 1 = 0
--
01

In simple terms:

XOR will take the two numbers in binary, and for the bit to be true, they must be different

Here's a list of all operators like ^

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Math.pow() takes a base and an exponent:

Math.pow(3, 2) --> 3² --> 9

Math.pow(5, 6) --> 5⁶ --> 15,625

Math.pow(7, 3) --> 7³ --> 343

What does ^= (caret equals) mean in jquery?

[attr^=val] a CSS selector that means:

Element that has an attribute named attr with a value that starts with val.

It's similar to [attr$=val], which does the opposite, looking for an attribute ending with val.

What is a caret exactly

A caret is an grapic placed by the UI to indicate where the current text insertion point is located. See the Wikipedia article that discusses it.

Typically a caret isn't a graphical design element, but is managed by the system underlying it. Only some input elements use a caret, specifically those that allow text input by the user. This is similar and closely related to the way that some UIs will show the current input field by providing a highlight or coloring around the field.

Each input field maintains its own current insertion point, and the caret is displayed at the current insertion point for the currently selected edit field, only. There's only ever one caret in a graphical system, and it's used as cue to the user of where typed characters would be placed. The caret, properly placed, is often shown between characters, but may also be shown atop the current character, as well.

The user manipulates the caret position by doing any of a few actions:

• use the arrow keys to change the insertion point
• add or delete characters in the current input field
• switch to another input field (e.g. TAB to the next field)

The caret can usually be manipulated programmatically by these types of API calls to set insertion position, which typically requires an input field and an index to the insertion point.

The caret may be any shape defined by the system, or any shape that you choose to display. Some carets include an animation, as well, such as blinking, cycling colors, or even bouncing.

What is the meaning of ^= operator in JS

myVar ^= 5 is the same as myVar = myVar ^ 5. ^ is the bitwise xor operator

Let's say myVar was set to 2

• 5 in binary is: 101
• 2 in binary is: 010

Exclusive "or" checks the first bit of both numbers and sees 1,0 and returns 1 then sees 0,1 and returns 1 and sees 1,0 and returns 1.

Thus 111 which converted back to decimal is 7

So 5^2 is 7

var myVar = 2;
myVar ^= 5;
alert(myVar); // 7

What is the need for caret (^) and dollar symbol ($) in regular expression?

Javascript RegExp() allows you to specify a multi-line mode (m) which changes the behavior of ^ and $.

^ represents the start of the current line in multi-line mode, otherwise the start of the string

$ represents the end of the current line in multi-line mode, otherwise the end of the string

For example: this allows you to match something like semicolons at the end of a line where the next line starts with "var" /;$\n\s*var/m

Fast regexen also need an "anchor" point, somewhere to start it's search somewhere in the string. These characters tell the Regex engine where to start looking and generally reduce the number of backtracks, making your Regex much, much faster in many cases.

NOTE: This knowledge came from Nicolas Zakas's High Performance Javascript

Conclusion: You should use them!

What does ^ (caret) mean in Java

It's the bitwise XOR operator. XOR is exclusive or.

6 in binary (lets assume 4 bits) is 0110, 3 in binary is 0011.

So, we get:

0110
0011 XOR
----
0101

And 0101 is 5.

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