dart_bitwise_skill

Overview

This skill explains how to perform bitwise operations in Dart for both int and bool types. It covers AND, inclusive OR, exclusive OR (XOR), and their negated forms: NAND, NOR, and XNOR. Practical code examples show the equivalent behavior for integer bits and boolean logic. The goal is a concise reference you can copy into small programs or tests.

How this skill works

The guide shows how Dart applies bitwise operators to integers (using &, |, ^, ) and how logical equivalents work with booleans (&, |, ^ and !). For negated operations (NAND, NOR, XNOR) it demonstrates combining operators with bitwise complement () for ints and logical not (!) for bools. Examples include single-bit integer expressions (0/1) and direct boolean expressions to illustrate identical truth tables.

When to use it

• When manipulating individual bits or flags in integer values.
• When implementing low-level algorithms that rely on bit patterns (masks, toggles, merges).
• When you need boolean logic equivalents expressed with bitwise operators for performance or clarity.
• When teaching or testing truth tables for AND, OR, XOR and their negations.
• When porting bitwise logic between languages and verifying behavior with 0/1 int samples.

Best practices

• Use int bitwise operators (&, |, ^, ~) for bit-level arithmetic and masking.
• Use boolean forms (&, |, ^, !) when working with logical values to keep intent clear.
• For NAND/NOR/XNOR prefer explicit negation (e.g., !(a & b) or ~(a & b) & 1) to avoid subtle precedence bugs.
• When working with integers, mask results with & 1 if you only care about the lowest bit after a complement.
• Add comments for non-obvious uses of bitwise logic to improve readability and maintainability.

Example use cases

• Combining feature flags stored as bits in an int using | and checking flags with &.
• Toggling or clearing specific bits in configuration values with ^ and & plus masks.
• Implementing truth-table based conditions or simple digital-logic simulations using booleans or 0/1 ints.
• Creating parity checks or simple checksums using XOR across bits.
• Expressing NAND/NOR/XNOR gates in unit tests to validate logical circuits or algorithms.