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C++ Data Types
Last Updated : 17 Mar, 2025
Data types specify the type of data that a variable can store. Whenever a
variable is defined in C++, the compiler allocates some memory for that
variable based on the data type with which it is declared as every data type
requires a different amount of memory.
C++ supports a wide variety of data types, and the programmer can select the
data type appropriate to the needs of the application.
Example:
▸ {...}
// Creating a variable to store integer
int var = 10;
▸ {...}
Output
10
Explanation: In the above code, we needed to store the value 10 in our
program, so we created a variable var. But before var, we have used the
keyword ‘int‘. This keyword is used to define that the variable var will store
data of type integer.
Classification of Datatypes
In C++, different data types are classified into the following categories:
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S. Type Description Data Types
No.
1 Basic Data Built-in or primitive data types that int, float, double,
Types are used to store simple values. char, bool, void
2 Derived Data Data types derived from basic array, pointer,
Types types. reference, function
3 Custom data types created by the
User Defined class, struct, union,
programmer according to their
Data Types typedef, using
need.
Let’s see how to use some primitive data types in C++ program.
1. Character Data Type (char)
The character data type is used to store a single character. The keyword used
to define a character is char. Its size is 1 byte, and it stores characters enclosed
in single quotes (‘ ‘). It can generally store upto 256 characters according to
their ASCII codes.
Example:
▸ {...}
// Character variable
char c = 'A';
▸ {...}
Output
2. Integer Data Type (int)
Integer data type denotes that the given variable can store the integer
numbers. The keyword used to define integers is int. Its size is 4-bytes (for 64-
bit) systems and can store numbers for binary, octal, decimal and hexadecimal
base systems in the range from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
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Example:
▸ {...}
// Creating an integer variable
int x = 25;
cout << x << endl;
// Using hexadecimal base value
x = 0x15;
cout << x;
▸ {...}
Output
25
21
To know more about different base values in C++, refer to the article – Literals
in C++
3. Boolean Data Type (bool)
The boolean data type is used to store logical values: true(1) or false(0). The
keyword used to define a boolean variable is bool. Its size is 1 byte.
Example:
▸ {...}
// Creating a boolean variable
bool isTrue = true;
▸ {...}
Output
4. Floating Point Data Type (float)
Floating-point data type is used to store numbers with decimal points. The
keyword used to define floating-point numbers is float. Its size is 4 bytes (on
64-bit systems) and can store values in the range from 1.2E-38 to 3.4e+38.
Example:
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▸ {...}
// Floating point variable with a decimal value
float f = 36.5;
▸ {...}
Output
36.5
5. Double Data Type (double)
The double data type is used to store decimal numbers with higher precision.
The keyword used to define double-precision floating-point numbers is
double. Its size is 8 bytes (on 64-bit systems) and can store the values in the
range from 1.7e-308 to 1.7e+308
Example:
▸ {...}
// double precision floating point variable
double pi = 3.1415926535;
▸ {...}
Output
3.14159
6. Void Data Type (void)
The void data type represents the absence of value. We cannot create a
variable of void type. It is used for pointer and functions that do not return any
value using the keyword void.
Type Safety in C++
C++ is a strongly typed language. It means that all variables’ data type should
be specified at the declaration, and it does not change throughout the program.
Moreover, we can only assign the values that are of the same type as that of
the variable.
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Example: If we try to assign floating point value to a boolean variable, it may
result in data corruption, runtime errors, or undefined behaviour.
▸ {...}
// Assigning float value to isTrue
bool a = 10.248f;
▸ {...}
Output
As we see, the floating-point value is not stored in the bool variable a. It just
stores 1. This type checking is not only done for fundamental types, but for all
data types to ensure valid operations and no data corruptions.
Data Type Conversion
Type conversion refers to the process of changing one data type into another
compatible one without losing its original meaning. It’s an important concept
for handling different data types in C++.
▸ {...}
// Convert char data type into integer
cout << (int)c << endl;
int sum = n + c;
cout << sum;
▸ {...}
Output
67
70
Size of Data Types in C++
Earlier, we mentioned that the size of the data types is according to the 64-bit
systems. Does it mean that the size of C++ data types is different for different
computers?
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Actually, it is partially true. The size of C++ data types can vary across different
systems, depending on the architecture of the computer (e.g., 32-bit vs. 64-bit
systems) and the compiler being used. But if the architecture of the computer is
same, then the size across different computers remains same.
We can find the size of the data type using sizeof operator. According to this
type, the range of values that a variable of given data types can store are
decided.
Example:
▸ {...}
// Printing the size of each data type
cout << "Size of int: " << sizeof(int) << " bytes" << endl;
cout << "Size of char: " << sizeof(char) << " byte" << endl;
cout << "Size of float: " << sizeof(float) << " bytes" << endl;
cout << "Size of double: " << sizeof(double) << " bytes";
▸ {...}
Output
Size of int: 4 bytes
Size of char: 1 byte
Size of float: 4 bytes
Size of double: 8 bytes
Data Type Modifiers
Data type modifiers are the keywords used to change or give extra meaning to
already existing data types. It is added to primitive data types as a prefix to
modify their size or range of data they can store. There are 4 type modifiers in
C++: short, long, signed and unsigned.
For Example, defining an int with long type modifier will change its size to 8
bytes:
int var1; // 4 bytes
long int var2; // 8 bytes
Similarly, other type modifiers also affect the size or range of the data type.
long double, long long int, unsigned int, etc.
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