^ (Boolean XOr) operator

Available with Spatial Analyst license.

Available with Image Analyst license.

Summary

Performs a Boolean Exclusive Or operation on the cell values of two input rasters.

Illustration

Boolean XOr illustration
OutRas = Raster("InRas1") ^ Raster("InRas2")

Discussion

The ^ operator will perform a Boolean XOr operation when one or more input (operand) is a raster. If both inputs (operands) are numbers, then the ^ operator will perform a Bitwise XOr operation. For more information on how to work with operators, see Working with operators.

When multiple operators are used in an expression, they are not necessarily executed in left-to-right order. The operator with the highest precedence value will be executed first. For more information on operator precedence, see operator precedence table. You can use parentheses to control the execution order.

Boolean (~, &, ^, |) operators have a higher precedence level than Relational (<, <=, >, >=, ==, !=) operators. Therefore, when Boolean operators are used in the same expression as Relational operators, the Boolean operators will be executed first. To change the order of execution, use parentheses.

When multiple Relational and/or Boolean operators are used consecutively in a single expression, in some cases it may fail to execute. To avoid this potential problem, use appropriate parentheses in the expression so that the execution order of the operators is explicitly defined. For more information, see Complex Statement Rules.

Two inputs are necessary for the Boolean evaluation to take place.

The order of input is irrelevant for this operator.

If the input values are floating point, they are converted to integer values by truncation before the Boolean operation is performed. The output values are always integer.

Another way to perform the Boolean XOr operation is a ^= b, which is an alternative way to write a = a ^ b.

If both inputs are single band rasters, or one of the inputs is a constant, the output will be a single band raster.

If both inputs are multiband rasters, or one of the inputs is a constant, the output will be a multiband raster. The number of bands in each multiband input must be the same.

The operator will perform the operation on each band from one input against the corresponding band from the other input. If one of the inputs is a multiband raster and the other input is a constant, the operator will perform the operation against the constant value for each band in the multiband input.

Syntax

in_raster_or_constant1 ^ in_raster_or_constant2
OperandExplanationData Type
in_raster_or_constant1

The first input to use in the Boolean XOr operation.

If one of the inputs is a raster and the other is a scalar, an output raster is created with the evaluation being performed for each cell in the input raster.

Raster Layer | Constant
in_raster_or_constant2

The second input to use in the Boolean XOr operation.

If one of the inputs is a raster and the other is a scalar, an output raster is created with the evaluation being performed for each cell in the input raster.

Raster Layer | Constant

Return Value

NameExplanationData Type
out_raster

The output raster object.

The output values will be either 0 or 1.

Raster

Code sample

^ (Boolean XOr) example 1 (Python window)

This sample performs a Boolean XOr operation on two input rasters.

import arcpy
from arcpy import env
from arcpy.ia import *
env.workspace = "C:/iapyexamples/data"
outBooleanXOr = Raster("degs") ^ Raster("negs")
outBooleanXOr.save("C:/iapyexamples/output/outboolxor.tif")
^ (Boolean XOr) example 2 (stand-alone script)

This sample performs a Boolean XOr operation on two input rasters.

# Name: Op_BooleanXOr_Ex_02.py
# Description: Performs a Boolean Exclusive Or operation on the
#              cell values of two input rasters
# Requirements: Image Analyst Extension

# Import system modules
import arcpy
from arcpy import env
from arcpy.ia import *

# Set environment settings
env.workspace = "C:/iapyexamples/data"

# Set local variables
inRaster1 = Raster("degs")
inRaster2 = Raster("negs")

# Execute BooleanXOr
outBooleanXOr = inRaster1 ^ inRaster2

# Save the output 
outBooleanXOr.save("C:/iapyexamples/output/outboolxor")

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