Each entry except the first (and second) is derived as an arithmetic operator combined with the "equals" sign. All assignment operators evaluate to the assigned value. ======= The primary assignment operator, and by far the most important among all the operators, is the lone "equals" sign (=). Syntactically, the "variable" is to the left of the = and the "value" is to the right. Whatever a variable holds before assignment, it is replaced by the value. variable = value;