Examples
Associativity is only needed when the operators in an expression have the same precedence. Usually + and - have the same precedence. Consider the expression 7 − 4 + 2. The result could be either (7 − 4) + 2 = 5 or 7 − (4 + 2) = 1. The former result corresponds to the case when + and − are left-associative, the latter to when + and - are right-associative.
In order to reflect normal mathematical usage, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operators are usually left-associative while an exponentiation operator (if present) is right-associative. Any assignment operators are also typically right-associative. To prevent cases where operands would be associated with two operators, or no operator at all, operators with the same precedence must have the same associativity.
Read more about this topic: Operator Associativity
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