What is the difference between the ^ (bitwise XOR) and | (bitwise OR) operators in JavaScript?

In JavaScript, both the `^` (bitwise XOR) and `|` (bitwise OR) operators are bitwise operators, but they perform different operations on the individual bits of binary representations of numbers.

Bitwise XOR (`^`):

The `^` operator performs a bitwise XOR (exclusive OR) operation between corresponding bits of two numbers. The result is `1` if the bits are different and `0` if the bits are the same.

let a = 5;  // Binary: 0101

let b = 3;  // Binary: 0011

let result = a ^ b;

console.log(result);  // Outputs: 6 (Binary: 0110)

In this example, the `^` operator produces the binary result `0110`, which is `6` in decimal.

Bitwise OR (`|`):

The `|` operator performs a bitwise OR operation between corresponding bits of two numbers. The result is `1` if at least one of the bits is `1`, and `0` otherwise.

let a = 5;  // Binary: 0101

let b = 3;  // Binary: 0011

let result = a | b;

console.log(result);  // Outputs: 7 (Binary: 0111)

In this example, the `|` operator produces the binary result `0111`, which is `7` in decimal.

Key Difference:

- The XOR (`^`) operator produces a `1` only when the corresponding bits are different.

- The OR (`|`) operator produces a `1` when at least one of the corresponding bits is `1`.

In summary, while both operators perform bitwise operations, the XOR operator is exclusive, meaning it produces `1` only when the bits are different, whereas the OR operator produces `1` when at least one of the bits is `1`.