Bitwise AND (&)

The AND operator (&) compares two numbers bit by bit. For each position, the result has a 1 only if both input bits are 1. Otherwise, the result is 0.

Example: $12 \& 10$. In binary, $12 = 1100$ and $10 = 1010$. Comparing position by position: $1\&1=1$, $1\&0=0$, $0\&1=0$, $0\&0=0$. Result: $1000 = 8$.

You'll use AND to check if specific bits are set, or to clear bits by masking. It's one of the most common bit operations.