title: What is the groovy << operator mean in this context?
body: <p>In a groovy tutorial, I encountered the following code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>class DateTagLib {
    def thisYear = {
      out &lt;&lt; Calendar.getInstance().get(Calendar.YEAR)
    }
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I don't know what the <code>&lt;&lt;</code> means, and I'm having no luck with google.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Edit:</strong>  I now know that <code>&lt;&lt;</code> sometimes is a bit shift.  But what does it mean here?</p>