in go, `5^2` equals 7 because the `^` symbol does **not** mean “to the power of”; instead, it’s the **bitwise xor operator**, which performs exclusive or on corresponding bits of two integers.
To understand why 5 ^ 2 == 7, let’s break it down step by step:
- Decimal 5 in binary is 101
- Decimal 2 in binary is 010
- Aligning bits and applying XOR (1 if bits differ, 0 if same):
101 (5) ^ 010 (2) ------- 111 (7)
So 101 XOR 010 = 111₂ = 7₁₀.
⚠️ Important notes:
- Go has no built-in exponentiation operator. To compute powers like 5², use math.Pow(5, 2) (which returns float64) or implement integer exponentiation manually.
- The ^ operator is also used for bitwise complement when unary (e.g., ^x flips all bits of x), but as a binary operator, it’s always XOR.
- Confusion often arises from languages like Python (**) or MATLAB (^) where ^ does mean exponentiation—but not in Go.
✅ Correct ways to compute 5² in Go:
import "math"
// For float64 result
result := math.Pow(5, 2) // 25.0
// For integer exponentiation (safe for small, non-negative exponents)
func powInt(base, exp int) int {
result := 1
for i := 0; i < exp; i++ {
result *= base
}
return result
}
fmt.Println(powInt(5, 2)) // 25Always double-check operator semantics—especially with symbols like ^, &, and |—as their meanings are bitwise in Go, not arithmetic or logical in the conventional sense.
