Question

I want to know when I do 4<<2, what exactly happens underneath?? are there any multiplications performed or how is the value computed. if you have a reference to the implementation of shift operators please reply me. Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Normally this is a processor instruction (directly done on the processor).

It simply does shift the bits in memory:

int a = 3; // a = 0 0 1 1
a << 1;    // a = 0 1 1 0 = 6
a << 1;    // a = 1 1 0 0 = 12

If you are looking for insight on how processors work in a very low level, Code by Charles Petzold is a fantastic book to read.