Use Very Carefully

The example program fragment:

int value = 10 ;
int result = 0 ;

result = value++ * 2 ;

System.out.println("value: " + value + "  result: " + result );

is equivalent to this program fragment:

int value = 10 ;
int result = 0 ;

result = value * 2 ;
value  = value + 1 ;

System.out.println("value: " + value + "  result: " + result );

The second version is one statement longer, but easier to understand. Use the increment operator only where it makes a program clearer, not merely to save typing. Using the increment operator without enough thought results in very confusing code.

The increment operator must be applied to a variable. It cannot be applied to a larger arithmetic expression. The following is incorrect:

int x = 15;
int result;

result = (x * 3 + 2)++  ;   // Wrong!