...
The value to the right of a shift operation must be within the appropriate range for the type of the numeric value to the left of the shift operation. That is, if the left numeric type is a long, the right value must be within the range [0, 63]; otherwise, the right value must be within the range [0, 31].
Arithmetic vs. Logical Shift
The JLS [JLS 2005] defines the behavior of the arithmetic shift operator as follows:
...
Noncompliant Code Example (Arithmetic vs. Logical)
In this noncompliant code example, method countOneBits loops forever on negative inputs because the >> operator performs an arithmetic shift rather than a logical shift:
...
Compliant Solution (Arithmetic vs. Logical)
This compliant solution uses the logical shift operator >>>, which clears vacated bits (that is, shifts in zero-bits on the left):
...