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# What is the name of the "-->" operator?
- URL: https://developerinsider.co/what-is-the-name-of-the-operator/
- Published: 2016-05-10T17:47:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T15:53:26.000Z
- Author: Vineet Choudhary
- Tags: Primary, C Programming, Interview

Here's an example:

```c
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
     int x = 10;
     while( x --> 0 ) // x goes to 0
     {
       printf("%d ", x);
     }
}

```

### Answer

`-->` is not an operator. It is in fact two separate operators, `--` and `>`.

The conditional's code decrements x, while returning x's original (not decremented) value, and then compares the original value with 0 using the > operator.

To better understand, the statement could be written as follows:

```
while( (x--) > 0 )

```

or

```c
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
     int x = 10;
     while( (x--) > 0 ) // x goes to 0
     {
       printf("%d ", x);
     }
}

```

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