C Programming

DIFFERENT TYPES OF INTEGERS
A normal integer is limited in range to +-32767. This value differs from computer to computer. It is possible in C to specify that an integer be stored in four memory locations instead of the normal two. This increases the effective range and allows very large integers to be stored. The way in which this is done is as follows,


	long int big_number = 245032L;

To display a long integer, use %l, ie,


	printf("A larger number is %l\n", big_number );

Short integers are also available, eg,


	short int   small_value = 114h;
	printf("The value is %h\n", small_value);

Unsigned integers (positive values only) can also be defined.

The size occupied by integers varies upon the machine hardware. ANSI C (American National Standards Institute) has tried to standardise upon the size of data types, and hence the number range of each type.

The following information is from the on-line help of the Turbo C compiler,

	Type: int
	  Integer data type

	Variables of type int are one word in length.
	They can be signed (default) or unsigned,
	which means they have a range of -32768 to
	32767 and 0 to 65535, respectively.


	Type modifiers: signed, unsigned, short, long

	A type modifier alters the meaning of the base
	type to yield a new type. Each of the above
	can be applied to the base type int. The
	modifiers signed and unsigned can be applied
	to the base type char. In addition, long can
	be applied to double. When the base type is
	ommitted from a declaration, int is assumed.

	Examples:
	long              x;  /* int is implied */
	unsigned char     ch;
	signed int        i;  /* signed is default */
	unsigned long int l;  /* int ok, not needed */