Addition Without Plus Operator | Dataford Interview Questions

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Problem

TCS BaNCS services may need low-level arithmetic logic when direct arithmetic operators are restricted. Implement integer addition without using the + operator or any equivalent arithmetic shortcut.

Use bitwise XOR to combine bits without carry, and bitwise AND followed by a left shift to calculate the carry. Continue until no carry remains.

Formal Specification

Implement add_without_plus(a, b):

Input: Two signed 32-bit integers a and b.
Output: Their mathematical sum, represented as a signed 32-bit integer.
Do not use +, sum, or string-based conversion to perform addition.
Bitwise operators such as ^, &, <<, and ~ are allowed.
Results follow signed 32-bit two's-complement behavior, including wraparound.

Constraints

-2^31 <= a, b <= 2^31 - 1
The result follows signed 32-bit two's-complement behavior
The implementation cannot use the plus operator
Only bitwise operations and control flow may implement the addition

Function Signature

def add_without_plus(a, b):