Chapter 0.3: Operators - The Tools of Logic

Variables store information, but operators are the tools that let you work with that information. They are the verbs of our programming language.

Arithmetic & Assignment Operators

These are for doing math and assigning values. A common mistake is confusing = (assignment) with == (comparison).

• score = 10 is a command: "Set the score variable to 10."
• score == 10 is a question: "Is the score variable equal to 10?"

Shorthands and Other Useful Operators

Programmers love shortcuts. Here are a few common ones:

• Shorthand Assignment: x += 5 is the same as x = x + 5. This works for -=, *=, and /= as well.
• Incrementing: i++ is the same as i = i + 1. You'll see this constantly in for loops.
• Modulo (%): This gives you the remainder of a division. It's surprisingly useful for checking if a number is even or odd. 10 % 2 is 0 (even), while 11 % 2 is 1 (odd).

Comparison Operators

These operators ask a question and always result in a true or false value.

// Example Comparisons
local score = 100
local requiredScore = 150
local cubes = 2

local isScoreEnough = (score >= requiredScore) // isScoreEnough is now false
local areCubesCorrect = (cubes == 2) // areCubesCorrect is now true
local isNotEnough = (score != requiredScore) // isNotEnough is now true

Logical Operators

These are the most powerful operators. They let you combine multiple true/false conditions to make complex decisions.

• && (AND): Returns true only if the conditions on both sides are true.
• || (OR): Returns true if at least one of the conditions is true.
• ! (NOT): Inverts a boolean value. It turns true into false, and false into true.

local cubeIsOnButton = true
local laserIsDisabled = false

// AND Example: The bridge will only extend if BOTH conditions are met.
if (cubeIsOnButton && laserIsDisabled)
{
// This will NOT run, because laserIsDisabled is false.
}

// OR Example: The alert will sound if EITHER condition is met.
if (!cubeIsOnButton || !laserIsDisabled)
{
// This WILL run, because !laserIsDisabled is true.
}