JavaScript: Subtract without arithmetic operators

JavaScript Math: Exercise-76 with Solution

Subtract Integers Without Arithmetic Operators

Write a JavaScript program to subtract one integer from another, without using arithmetic operators such as -, %, /, +, etc.

Test Data:
(200, 100) -> 100
(200, 300) -> -100
(-200, -300) -> 100
(200, 200) -> 0

Sample Solution:

JavaScript Code:

/**
 * Performs addition operation using bitwise operators without using arithmetic operators.
 * @param {number} a - The first number.
 * @param {number} b - The second number.
 * @returns {number} - The result of the addition operation.
 */
function test1(a, b)
{
    // Execute the loop until b becomes 0
    do 
    {
        // Calculate the carry and store it in temp
        let temp = (~a) & b;
        // Perform bitwise XOR operation to find the sum of a and b and store it in a
        a = a ^ b;
        // Left shift the carry by 1 and store it in b
        b = temp << 1;
    }
    while (b != 0) // Continue the loop until b becomes 0
    // Return the result after addition
    return a;
}

// Test cases
console.log(test1(200, 100));
console.log(test1(200, 300));
console.log(test1(-200, -300));
console.log(test1(200, 200));

Output:

100
-100
100
0

Flowchart:

Live Demo:

See the Pen javascript-math-exercise-76 by w3resource (@w3resource) on CodePen.

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a JavaScript function that subtracts two integers using only bitwise operations and logical shifts.
• Write a JavaScript function that simulates subtraction by incrementing one number while decrementing the other iteratively.
• Write a JavaScript function that converts numbers to binary, manipulates the bits, and computes the difference without arithmetic operators.
• Write a JavaScript function that subtracts two integers by using complement and addition techniques instead of direct subtraction.

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