Symbols > -- (decrement) |  |

-- (decrement)

decrement, --

Availability

Flash Player 4.

Usage

    --expression
    expression--

Parameters

None.

Returns

Nothing.

Description

Operator (arithmetic); a pre-decrement and post-decrement unary operator that subtracts 1 from the `expression`. The pre-decrement form of the operator (`--expression`) subtracts 1 from `expression` and returns the result. The post-decrement form of the operator (`expression--`) subtracts 1 from the `expression` and returns the initial value of `expression` (the value prior to the subtraction).

Example

The pre-decrement form of the operator decrements `x` to 2 (`x - 1 = 2`), and returns the result as `y`:

    x = 3;
    y = --x;
    //y is equal to 2

The post-decrement form of the operator decrements `x` to 2 (`x - 1 = 2`), and returns the original value of `x` as the result `y`:

    x = 3;
    y = x--
    //y is equal to 3