Thread: How to read the expression (i = j) || (j = k)

I was practicing some exercise from the book, so I wrote down the program below.

Code:

#include<stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
    int i = 7, j = 8, k = 9;
    
    printf("%d ", (i = j) || (j = k));
    printf("%d %d %d", i, j, k);
    
    getch();
    return 0;
}

The result should be 1 8 8 9, but I don't know how this expression work.
How to interpret the expression (i = j) || (j = k)?
In the first parentheses (i = j), did the program assign 8 to i?
If so, why didn't it assign 9 to j as well, in the second parentheses (j = k)?
Later on, why the i remain as 8, when was it saved?

Why is i = j will always be true?

Originally Posted by Roger Lo

Why is i = j will always be true?

It's a standard set by ANSI C. Anything not 0 is true. This world is full of standards and conventions which sometimes make sense, sometimes don't.

Originally Posted by Roger Lo

Why is i = j will always be true?

See Salem's post... I should qualify my statement to say that "in your example" it will always be true.
As Salem points out, if j is 0, it will evaluate to false...
Another way of breaking it down to understand it is...

Code:

i = j;
if ( i != 0 ) 
  Printf("Hello");

understood, thanks for everyone!