Conditionally assign a value without using conditional and arithmetic operators - GeeksforGeeks

28 Jan, 2022
Given 4 integers a, b, y, and x, where x can assume the values of either 0 or 1 only. The following question is asked:
If 'x' is 0, 
   Assign value 'a' to variable 'y' 
Else (If 'x' is 1)
   Assign value 'b' to variable 'y'.
Note: – You are not allowed to use any conditional operator (including the ternary operator) or any arithmetic operator (+, -, *, /).
Examples : 
Input :  a = 5 , b = 10, x = 1
Output :  y = 10

Input : a = 5, b = 10 , x = 0
Output :  y = 5
Asked in: Google Interview 
Solution 1:
An Idea is to simply store both ‘a’ and  ‘b’ in an array at 0th and 1st index respectively. Then store value to ‘y’ by taking ‘x’ as an index.
Below is the implementation of the above approach:
C++
Java
Python3
C#
PHP
Javascript
// C/C++ program to assign value to y according// to value of x #include <iostream>using namespace std; // Function to assign value to y according// to value of xint assignValue(int a, int b, int x){    int y;    int arr[2];     // Store both values in an array    // value 'a' at 0th index    arr[0] = a;     // Value 'b' at 1th index    arr[1] = b;     // Assign value to 'y' taking 'x' as index    y = arr[x];     return y;} // Driver codeint main(){    int a = 5;    int b = 10;    int x = 0;     cout << "Value assigned to 'y' is "         << assignValue(a, b, x);    return 0;}
// Java program to assign value to y according// to value of x public class GFG {    static int assignValue(int a, int b, int x)    {        int y;        int arr[] = new int[2];         // Store both values in an array        // value 'a' at 0th index        arr[0] = a;         // Value 'b' at 1th index        arr[1] = b;         // Assign value to 'y' taking 'x' as index        y = arr[x];         return y;    }     // Driver Method    public static void main(String[] args)    {        int a = 5;        int b = 10;        int x = 0;         System.out.println("Value assigned to 'y' is "                           + assignValue(a, b, x));    }}
# Python 3 program to assign value to# y according to value of x # Function to assign value to y# according to value of x  def assignValue(a, b, x):     arr = [0] * 2     # Store both values in an array    # value 'a' at 0th index    arr[0] = a     # Value 'b' at 1th index    arr[1] = b     # Assign value to 'y' taking 'x'    # as index    y = arr[x]     return y  # Driver codeif __name__ == "__main__":     a = 5    b = 10    x = 0     print("Value assigned to 'y' is",          assignValue(a, b, x)) # This code is contributed by ita_c
// C# program to assign value to y according// to value of xusing System; public class GFG {     static int assignValue(int a, int b, int x)    {        int y;        int[] arr = new int[2];         // Store both values in an array        // value 'a' at 0th index        arr[0] = a;         // Value 'b' at 1th index        arr[1] = b;         // Assign value to 'y' taking 'x'        // as index        y = arr[x];         return y;    }     // Driver Code    public static void Main()    {        int a = 5;        int b = 10;        int x = 0;         Console.Write("Value assigned to "                      + "'y' is " + assignValue(a, b, x));    }} // This code is contributed by nitin mittal.
<?php// PHP program to assign value// to y according to value of x // Function to assign value// to y according to value of xfunction assignValue($a, $b, $x){    $y;    $arr = array(0, 0);     // Store both values in an array    // value 'a' at 0th index    $arr[0] = $a;     // Value 'b' at 1th index    $arr[1] = $b;     // Assign value to 'y'    // taking 'x' as index    $y = $arr[$x];     return $y;} // Driver code$a = 5;$b = 10;$x = 0; echo "Value assigned to 'y' is " .        assignValue($a, $b, $x); // This code is contributed by Anuj_67?>
<script>// javascript program to assign value to y according// to value of x      function assignValue(a , b , x) {        var y;        var arr = Array(2);         // Store both values in an array        // value 'a' at 0th index        arr[0] = a;         // Value 'b' at 1th index        arr[1] = b;         // Assign value to 'y' taking 'x' as index        y = arr[x];         return y;    }     // Driver Method             var a = 5;        var b = 10;        var x = 0;         document.write("Value assigned to 'y' is "        + assignValue(a, b, x)); // This code is contributed by todaysgaurav</script>
Value assigned to 'y' is 5
Solution 2: 
Using bitwise AND operator.
C++
Java
Python3
C#
Javascript
// C/C++ program to assign value to y according// to value of x #include <iostream>using namespace std; // Driver Codeint main(){    int a = 5;    int b = 10;    int x = 1;    int y;     if (x & 1)        y = b;    else        y = a;    cout << "Value assigned to 'y' is " << y << endl;    return 0;}
// Java program to assign value to y according// to value of ximport java.io.*;class GFG{   // Driver Code  public static void main (String[] args)  {       int a = 5;    int b = 10;    int x = 1;    int y;    if ((x & 1) != 0)      y = b;    else      y = a;    System.out.println("Value assigned to 'y' is " + y);  }} // This code is contributed by avanitrachhadiya2155
# Python3 program to assign value to y# according to value of x # Driver Codea = 5b = 10x = 1y = 0 if ((x & 1) != 0):    y = belse:    y = a print("Value assigned to 'y' is ", y) # This code is contributed by ab2127
// C# program to assign value to y according// to value of xusing System;public class GFG{   // Driver Code  static public void Main ()  {     int a = 5;    int b = 10;    int x = 1;    int y;    if ((x & 1) != 0)      y = b;    else      y = a;    Console.WriteLine("Value assigned to 'y' is " + y);  }} // This code is contributed by rag2127
<script> // Javascript program to assign value to y according// to value of x     // Driver Code             var a = 5;        var b = 10;        var x = 1;        var y;        if ((x & 1) != 0)            y = b;        else            y = a;        document.write("Value assigned to 'y' is " + y); // This code contributed by Rajput-Ji </script>
Value assigned to 'y' is 10
Reference: https://www.careercup.com/question?id=5135296679116800
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nitin mittal
vt_m
ukasp
satishkale17
avanitrachhadiya2155
rag2127
todaysgaurav
Rajput-Ji
ab2127
swayambhusamiksha1
23620uday2021
amartyaghoshgfg
CBSE - Class 11
school-programming
C++
CPP
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