bitwise.shiftLeft

Description

Performs a left bit shift operation, moving all bits to the left by the specified number of positions. Zero bits are shifted in from the right.

Syntax 

flex.bitwise.shiftLeft(a, positions)

Parameters

Parameter Type Required Description
a number (integer) Yes The value to shift
positions number (integer) Yes Number of positions to shift left

Returns

Type: number (integer)

The result of shifting the bits left by the specified positions.

Examples

Example 1: Basic Left Shift 

RETURN flex.bitwise.shiftLeft(5, 2) AS result

Output:

result
------
20

(Binary: 0101 « 2 = 10100 = 20)

Example 2: Multiply by Power of Two 

WITH 7 AS value
RETURN 
    flex.bitwise.shiftLeft(value, 1) AS times2,
    flex.bitwise.shiftLeft(value, 2) AS times4,
    flex.bitwise.shiftLeft(value, 3) AS times8

Output:

times2 | times4 | times8
-------|--------|-------
14     | 28     | 56

(Left shift by n is equivalent to multiplying by 2^n)

Example 3: Creating Bit Masks 

RETURN flex.bitwise.shiftLeft(1, 3) AS mask

Output:

mask
----
8

(Creates mask with bit 3 set: 1000)

Notes

  • Operates on 32-bit signed integers in JavaScript
  • Left shift by n is equivalent to multiplying by 2^n
  • Bits shifted off the left are discarded
  • Zero bits are shifted in from the right
  • Useful for multiplication by powers of 2 and creating bit masks

See Also