title: What's the result of a & b?
body: <p>This is awkward, but the bitwise AND operator is defined in the C++ standard as follows (emphasis mine).</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The usual arithmetic conversions are performed; <strong>the result is the bitwise AND function of its operands</strong>. The operator applies only to integral or unscoped enumeration operands.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>This looks kind of meaningless to me. The "bitwise AND function" is not defined anywhere in the standard, as far as I can see.</p>
  
  <p>I get that the AND function is well-understood and thus may not require explanation. The meaning of the word "bitwise" should also be rather clear: the function is applied to corresponding bits of its operands. However, what constitute the bits of the operands is not clear.</p>
  
  <p>What gives?</p>