User Guide

90 Chapter 2: ActionScript Language Reference

>>> (bitwise unsigned right shift)

Availability

Flash Player 5.

Usage

expression1 >>> expression2

Parameters

expression1

A number or expression to be shifted right.

expression2 A number or expression that converts to an integer between 0 and 31.

Returns

A 32-bit unsigned integer.

Description

Operator (bitwise); the same as the bitwise right shift (>>) operator except that it does not

preserve the sign of the original

expression because the bits on the left are always filled with 0.

Floating-point numbers are converted to integers by discarding any digits after the decimal point.

Positive integers are converted to an unsigned hex value with a maximum value of 4294967295 or

0xFFFFFFFF; values larger than the maximum have their most significant digits discarded when

they are converted so the value is still 32-bit. Negative numbers are converted to an unsigned hex

value via the two’s complement notation, with the minimum being -2147483648 or

0x800000000; numbers less than the minimum are converted to two’s complement with greater

precision and also have the most significant digits discarded.

For more information, see “Operator precedence and associativity” in Using ActionScript in Flash.

Example

The following example converts -1 to a 32-bit integer and shifts it 1 bit to the right:

var x:Number = -1 >>> 1;

trace(x); // output: 2147483647

This is because -1 decimal is 11111111111111111111111111111111 binary (thirty-two 1’s),

and when you shift right (unsigned) by 1 bit, the least significant (rightmost) bit is discarded, and

the most significant (leftmost) bit is filled with a 0. The result is

01111111111111111111111111111111 binary, which represents the 32-bit integer

2147483647.