Bitwise OR '|', '|='

The Bitwise OR operator performs a bitwise OR of the bits of the first operand with the bits of the second operand. Bitwise OR can be used in both variable and integer constant expressions, but not in floating-point constant expressions. Each bit of the two operands is subject to the following logic:

Example:

X := %00101100 | %00001111

The above example ORs %00101100 with %00001111 and writes the result, %00101111, to X.

Bitwise OR has an assignment form, |=, that uses the variable to its left as both the first operand and the result destination. For example,

X |= $F      'Short form of X := X | $F

Here, the value of X is ORed with $F and the result is stored back in X. The assignment form of Bitwise OR may also be used within expressions for intermediate results; see Intermediate Assignments.

Be careful not to get Bitwise OR '|'confused with Boolean OR 'OR'. Bitwise OR is for bit manipulation while Boolean OR is for comparison purposes (see Boolean OR 'OR', 'OR=').