Operator precedence and associativity

Operator precedence determines the order in which operators are evaluated. Associativity determines the direction (left‑to‑right or right‑to‑left) when operators have the same precedence.

Precedence table (highest to lowest):

Precedence	Operators	Associativity
1	++ -- + - ~ ! (postfix)	right‑to‑left
2	* / %	left‑to‑right
3	+ -	left‑to‑right
4	<< >> >>>	left‑to‑right
5	< <= > >= instanceof	left‑to‑right
6	== !=	left‑to‑right
7	&	left‑to‑right
8	^	left‑to‑right
9	|	left‑to‑right
10	&&	left‑to‑right
11	||	left‑to‑right
12	? :	right‑to‑left
13	= += -= etc.	right‑to‑left

Examples:

int a = 5 + 3 * 2; // 5 + (3*2) = 11
int b = (5 + 3) * 2; // (5+3)*2 = 16

Associativity:

int c = 10 / 5 * 2; // (10/5)*2 = 4 (left‑to‑right)
int d = a = b = 5; // a = (b = 5) (right‑to‑left)

Use parentheses to make intent clear:

if ((x > 0) && (y < 10)) { ... }