Briefly describe how the \(\& \&\) operator works.

The "&&" operator, also known as the Logical AND operator, is commonly used in programming languages like C, C++, Java, JavaScript, and Python (using "and" instead of "&&"). It allows us to combine two or more conditions in a single statement. Both conditions must be true for the result to be true, otherwise, the result will be false.

The && operator works by evaluating two expressions (commonly referred to as operands) on either side of the operator. If both expressions are true, the operator returns true. However, if either of the expressions or both are false, the operator returns false. This functionality can be summarized in a truth table: Condition 1 | Condition 2 | Condition 1 && Condition 2 ------------|-------------|--------------------------- true | true | true true | false | false false | true | false false | false | false

Let's consider an example to better understand the use of the && operator in a programming scenario. Suppose, in a programming language, we have two integer variables "age" and "score," and we want to check if a person is eligible for a special scholarship. The conditions for the scholarship eligibility are: 1. The person must be older than 17 years. 2. The person has a score of at least 85. Here's how we can use the && operator to check these conditions: ```cpp int age = 18; int score = 90; bool isEligibleForScholarship = (age > 17) && (score >= 85); ``` This will create a boolean variable `isEligibleForScholarship` that will store the result of the combined conditions. In this case, since the age is 18 (greater than 17) and the score is 90 (greater than or equal to 85), both conditions are true, and the result will be true.