How to Flip a Bit at a Specific Position in an Integer in Any Programming Language

How can I flip a bit at a specific position in an integer using various programming languages?

// Example in Python to flip a bit at position 'n' in 'num'
def flip_bit(num, n):
    return num ^ (1 << n)

Flipping a bit in an integer can be efficiently achieved using bitwise operations. This technique allows you to change a 0 to a 1 or a 1 to a 0 at a specified bit position without altering other bits in the integer.

// C++ code to flip a bit at position 'n'
#include <iostream>

int flipBit(int num, int n) {
    return num ^ (1 << n);
}

int main() {
    int num = 5; // Binary: 101
    int n = 1;   // Flip the bit at position 1
    int result = flipBit(num, n);
    std::cout << "Result: " << result; // Output: 7 (Binary: 111)
    return 0;
}

Causes

• Understanding of bitwise operators is necessary.
• Confusion about zero-based indexing in bit positions.

Solutions

• Use bitwise XOR (^) to flip the bit.
• Calculate the bitmask using left shift (<<) to specify the correct position.

Mistake: Not adjusting for zero-based indexing when specifying the bit position.

Solution: Always remember that the rightmost bit is at position 0.

Mistake: Using out-of-bounds positions can lead to unexpected results.

Solution: Ensure that the bit position is valid according to the size of the integer (e.g., up to 31 for a 32-bit integer).