Why hasn't my variable changed after applying a bit-shift operator to it?

Question

int main()
{
    int i=3;
    (i << 1);
    cout << i; //Prints 3
}

I expected to get 6 because of shifting left one bit. Why does it not work?

Answer 1

You're not assigning the value of the expression (i << 1); back to i.

Try:

i = i << 1;

Or (same):

i <<= 1;