Bitwise Operations and Unions

Now that we know how numeric data is represented as a sequence of bits, we will find it useful to manipulate these bits in several different ways; several bitwise operations help us in this regard. As in Scheme, sometimes we need a modest amount of flexibility with respect to the data type used in particular circumstances; the union type accomplishes this. You will learn about both in the following textbook readings.

The reading below makes reference to the struct feature of the C programming language, which we will cover in detail after the next module. For now, you may infer what you can about them from the reading, but you should not worry about understanding all the details.

• King: Sections 16.4, 20.1