C program to get nth bit of a number

Write a C program to input any number from user and check whether n^th bit of the given number is set (1) or not (0). How to check whether n^th bit of a given number is set or unset using bitwise operator in C programming. C program to get the status of n^th bit of a number.

Input number: 12
Input nth bit number: 2

2 bit of 12 is set (1)

In previous two exercise, we learned to get Least Significant Bit (LSB) and Most Significant Bit (MSB) of a number. In this post we will learn to get nth bit of a number.

Required knowledge

Bitwise operators, Data types, Variables and Expressions, Basic input/output

Logic to get nth bit of a number

Step by step descriptive logic to get nth bit of a number.

1. Input number from user. Store it in some variable say num.
2. Input the bit position from user. Store it in some variable say n.
3. To get the nth bit of num right shift num, n times. Then perform bitwise AND with 1 i.e. bitStatus = (num >> n) & 1;.

Program to get nth bit of a number

/**
 * C program to get the nth bit of a number
 */

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int num, n, bitStatus;

    /* Input number from user */
    printf("Enter any number: ");
    scanf("%d", &num);

    /* Input bit position you want to check */
    printf("Enter nth bit to check (0-31): ");
    scanf("%d", &n);

    /* Right shift num, n times and perform bitwise AND with 1 */
    bitStatus = (num >> n) & 1;

    printf("The %d bit is set to %d", n, bitStatus);

    return 0;
}

Always remember bit order starts from 0.

Enter any number: 12
Enter nth bit to check (0-31): 2
The 2 bit is set to 1

Happy coding 😉