Working of post increment operator in Java

Question

I am really confused about how the post-increment operator in Java works. I was referring to a doc, where the author says:

j=j++ ;

is equivalent to:

temp=j;

j=j+1;

j=temp;

But, what I have learned is:

a=b++;

Which evaluates like:

a=b;

b=b+1;

So, following this logic:

j=j++;

Should be evaluated as:

j=j;

j=j+1;

So, where does this temp comes from? I am not able to understand this temp concept. Please do leave your explanation regarding this.

Answer 1

Well, I think the confusion is because you have changed the actual order of evaluation from increment and assign to assign and increment. So,

a=b++;

will be evaluated like:

temp=b;
b=b+1;     // increment
a=temp;    // then assign

And not as:

a=b;      // assign
b=b+1;    // then increment

Hope this makes things clear for you.