Operators in Programming

Consider the following snippet:

result = 3.1 + 0.2;

It is easy to understand what the bit 3.1 + 0.2 does. The symbol + means addition, and the same could be expressed in funtional notation (remember mathematical functions):

result = add(3.1, 0.2);

as long as function add(x1, x1) is defined.

Word result = Word("back") + Word("yard");

(The actual statement or line will be different in each programming language. Here I have used C++ grammar.)

Essentially, an operator is a notation device that makes code look more natural or even more graphic.

Some programming languages allow defining new operators, notably PROLOG. Others, like C++, allow the programmer to expand the operator notation to new types. For instance, a new type Word might have been defined as well as an operator to concatenate such Word objects.