Logical OR (||) vs. Bitwise OR (|): When Should You Choose Short-Circuiting?

Why We Generally Favor Logical OR (||) Over Bitwise OR (|)

In programming, logical OR (||) and bitwise OR (|) operators both evaluate to true if one or both operands are true. However, there's a key distinction that favors the use of || over |: short-circuiting.

The Benefit of Short-Circuiting with Logical OR

When using logical OR(||), the evaluation stops as soon as a true operand is encountered. This prevents the evaluation of the subsequent operand if it's not necessary. Consider the following:

if(true || false)  // Passes
if(false || false) // Doesn't pass

In the first case, there's no need to evaluate the second operand because the first one is already true. Similarly, with other logical operators like logical AND(&&) and logical NOT (!).

Bitwise OR vs. Logical OR

Bitwise OR, on the other hand, evaluates both operands regardless of the result. This can be advantageous in scenarios where you want to perform bit manipulation, such as setting or clearing bits. However, for boolean operations, the short-circuiting behavior of logical OR provides significant benefits:

• Performance Optimization: By avoiding unnecessary evaluation, logical OR can improve performance, especially in scenarios with complex expressions or when working with expensive operations.
• Safety Checks: Short-circuiting with || allows for safe null reference checks. By placing the null check as the first operand, you can prevent potential null pointer exceptions from being thrown. For example:

if(string != null && string.isEmpty())  // Checks for null before calling isEmpty()

In general, using logical OR(||) is recommended over bitwise OR (|) for boolean operations because it offers the benefits of short-circuiting, performance optimization, and safety checks during null reference checks.

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