C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
1. Primitive Types in ANSI C (C89)/ISO C (C90) char, short, int, float and double. 2. Primitive Types added to ISO C (C99) - long long 3. User Defined Types struct, union, enum and typedef. 4. Derived Types pointer, array and function pointer.
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Type Size in Bits Comments Other Names Primitive Types in ANSI C (C89)/ISO C (C90)
char
sizeof() will give the size in units of chars. need not be 8-bit The number of bits is given by the CHAR_BIT macro in the limits.h header. Integer operations can be performed portably only for the range: 0 ~ 127 (28 / 2). Can store integers in the range: -127 ~ 127 (28) portably.
signed char
unsigned char
Same as char but guaranteed to be signed Same as char but guaranteed to be unsigned.
Can store integers in the range: 0 ~ 255 (28) portably.
char type program example
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
short
16, size of char
unsigned short
Same as short but unsigned
int
16, size of short
unsigned int
Same as int but unsigned.
Can store integers in the range: 32767 ~ 32767 (216 / 2) portably. Reduce memory usage though the resulting executable may be larger and probably slower as compared to using int. Can store integers in the range: 0 ~ 65535 (216) portably. Used to reduce memory usage though the resulting executable may be larger and probably slower as compared to using int. Basic signed integer type. Represent a typical processors data size which is word-size An integral data-type. Can store integers in the range: 32767 ~ 32767 (216 / 2) portably. Can store integers in the range: 0 ~ 65535 (216) portably.
short int, signed short, signed short int
unsigned short int
signed, signed int
unsigned
short int type program example
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
long
32, size of int Same as long but unsigned
unsigned long
float
size of char
double
size of float
long signed integer type. Can store integers in the range: 2147483647 ~ 2147483647 (232 / 2) portably. Can store integers in the range: 0 ~ 4294967295 (232) portably. Used to reduce memory usage when the values used do not vary widely. The format used is implementation defined and unnecessarily obeys the IEEE 754 single-precision format. unsigned cannot be specified. Typical floating-point data type used by processor. The format used is implementation defined and unnecessarily obeys the IEEE 754 double-precision format. unsigned cannot be specified. unsigned cannot be specified.
long int, signed long, signed long int unsigned long int
long double
size of double
long int type program example
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Type Size in Bits Comments Other Names
long long
unsigned long long
Primitive Types added to ISO C (C99) Can store integers in long long int, the range: 64, size 922337203685477580 signed long long, of long signed long long 7~ 922337203685477580 int 7 (264 / 2) portably. Same as Can store integers in long long, unsigned long long the range: 0 ~ but 184467440737095516 int unsigned. 15 (264) portably.
Long long int type program example
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
intmax_t
Signed integer types capable of representing any value of any signed integer type.
uintmax_t
Unsigned integer types capable of representing any value of any unsigned integer type
It is a typedef represents the signed integer type with largest possible range. If you want an integer with the widest range possible on the platform on which it is being used. It is a typedef represents the unsigned integer type with largest possible range. If you want an integer with the widest range possible on the platform on which it is being used.
Program example
Not supported by MSVC++ < 2012
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Unfortunately this is not supported by MSVC++ < 2012 inttypes.h vs. stdint.h: The C99 standard says that inttypes.h includes stdint.h , so there's no need to include stdint.h separately in a standard environment. Some implementations have inttypes.h but not stdint.h. VS/VC++ users may want to use msinttypes. Other references,
1. 2. 3. http://www.qnx.com/developers/docs/6.5.0/index.jsp?topic=/com.qnx.doc.dinku m_en_c99/stdint.html http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/007904975/basedefs/stdint.h.html http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/iseries/v7r1m0/index.jsp?topic=%2Frtref %2Fstdinth.htm
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Actual size of integer types varies by implementation: Windows, Linux, BSD etc. The only guarantee is that the long long is not smaller than long, which is not smaller than int, which is not smaller than short.
long long > long > int > short
int should be the integer type that the target processor is most efficient working with. For example, all types can be 64-bit. Actual size of floating point types also varies by implementation. The only guarantee is that the long double is not smaller than double, which is not smaller than float.
long double > double > float
The 32-bit and 64-bit IEEE 754 floating point formats should be used.
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Boolean type
The boolean (true/false) type is _Bool defined in stdbool.h The stdbool.h type also defines a few useful identifiers as macros: bool is defined as _Bool, true as 1, false as 0.
Additionally, __bool_true_false_are_defined is defined as 1.
The _Bool type and stdbool.h header did not exist in pre-1999 versions of the standard.
bool in VC++ example bool in Pelles C example
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Size and pointer difference types
Separate size_t and ptrdiff_t types to represent memoryrelated quantities.
Existing types were inadequate, because their size is defined according to the target processor's arithmetic capabilities, not the memory capabilities, such as the address space availability. Both of these types are defined in the stddef.h header file (cstddef in C++).
size_t is used to represent the maximum size of any object (including arrays) in the particular implementation. An unsigned integer type used to represent the sizes of objects
size_t program example
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Used as the return type of the sizeof() operator. The maximum size of size_t is provided via SIZE_MAX, a macro constant which is defined in the stdint.h header file (cstdint in C++). It is guaranteed to be at least 65535. ptrdiff_t is used to represent the difference between pointers. Is the signed integer type of the result of subtracting two pointers. The type's size is chosen so that it could store the maximum size of a theoretically possible array of any type. On a 32-bit system ptrdiff_t will take 32 bits and on a 64-bit one - 64 bits and it is portable.
size_t and ptrdiff_t: a story ptrdiff_t program example
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Interface to the properties of the basic types
Information about the actual properties, such as size, of the basic arithmetic types, is provided via macro constants in two header files,
1) limits.h header (climits in C++) defines macros for integer types. 2) float.h header (cfloat in C++) defines macros for floating-point types.
The actual values depend on the implementation.
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Fixed width integer types
C99 standard includes definitions of several new integer types to enhance programs portability. Existing basic integer types were considered inadequate; because their actual sizes are implementation defined and may vary across different systems. The new types are especially useful in embedded environments where hardware supports limited to several types and varies from system to system. All new types are defined in inttypes.h (cinttypes in C++) and stdint.h (cstdint in C++) header files. The types can be grouped into the following categories:
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
Exact width integer types - are guaranteed to have the same number N of bits across all implementations. Included only if it is available in the implementation. Least width integer types - are guaranteed to be the smallest type available in the implementation, that has at least specified number N of bits. Guaranteed to be specified for at least N=8, 16, 32, 64. Fastest integer types - are guaranteed to be the fastest integer type available in the implementation, that has at least specified number N of bits. Guaranteed to be specified for at least N=8, 16, 32, 64. Pointer integer types - are guaranteed to be able to hold a pointer. Maximum width integer types - are guaranteed to be the largest integer type in the implementation.
C BASIC (DATA) TYPES
The following table summarizes the types and the interface to acquire the implementation details (N refers to the number of bits).
Type category Type Exact width Least width Fastest Pointer Maximum width intN_t
Signed types
Min value INTN_MIN Max value INTN_MAX Type uintN_t
Unsigned types
Min value 0 0 0 0 0 Max value UINTN_MAX UINT_LEASTN_MAX UINT_FASTN_MAX UINTPTR_MAX UINTMAX_MAX
int_leastN_t INT_LEASTN_MIN INT_LEASTN_MAX uint_leastN_t int_fastN_t intptr_t intmax_t INT_FASTN_MIN INTPTR_MIN INTMAX_MIN INT_FASTN_MAX uint_fastN_t INTPTR_MAX INTMAX_MAX uintptr_t uintmax_t
USER DEFINED (DATA) TYPES
Keyword Size Note
sum of size An aggregate type which can contain more struct of each than one different types. member
tag or label is optional struct theEmployee { int age; double salary; char department; char name[15]; char address[5][25]; }; struct theEmployee workerRec; typedef struct { int x; int SomeArray[100]; } MyFoo; int main() { MyFoo strctVar; return 0; }
struct newPoint { short xPoint; short yPoint; } justPoint; justPoint thePoint;
USER DEFINED (DATA) TYPES
size of the union largest member An aggregate type which can contain more than one other types. union uses shared memory space compared to struct, so only one member can be accessed at one time.
union someData { int pNum; float qNum; double rNum; }; union someData simpleData; union OtherData{ char aNum; int xNum; float fNum; } simpleData; simpleData saveData;
USER DEFINED (DATA) TYPES
enum
size of char
Enumerations are a separate type from ints, though they are mutually convertible. Used to declare identifiers as constants in an ordered manner.
enum ndays {Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun}; / * Creates enum days type, which the identifiers are set automatically to the integers 0 to 6. */ enum ndays ndayCount;
enum trafficDirection{ north, south, east, west }; enum trafficDirection newDirection;
enum cColor = {red = 2, green, blue, black}; Enum cColor ccolorCode;
USER DEFINED (DATA) TYPES
typedef same as the type; being given a new name typedef used to give new identifier names or alias (to simplify the long identifier names), normally used for aggregate defined types.
typedef unsigned char BYTE; /* Declares BYTE to be a synonym for unsigned char */ typedef float FLOAT; /* Declares FLOAT (uppercase letter) to be a synonym for unsigned float (lowercase) */
tag or label is optional
typedef struct simpleData { int nData; char cData; } newNameType;
typedef struct TOKEN_SOURCE { CHAR SourceName[8]; LUID SourceIdentifier; } TOKEN_SOURCE, *PTOKEN_SOURCE; TOKEN_SOURCE newToken;
Or
typedef struct { int nData; char cData;} newNameType; newNameType strctType;
typedef union unData{ double lngSalary; int nDay; }newUntype; newUnType lntotalSalary;
typedef enum DayNames { Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday } Weekdays; Weekdays dayOfWeek;
DERIVED (DATA) TYPES
Type Size
type*
size of char
(a pointer)
Note Hold the memory address which point to the actual data/value. 0 address always represents the null pointer (an address where no data can be placed), irrespective of what bit sequence represents the value of a null pointer. Pointers to different types will have different sizes. So they are not convertible to one another. Even in an implementation which guarantees all data pointers to be of the same size, function pointers and data pointers are in general incompatible with each other. For functions taking a variable number of arguments, the arguments passed must be of appropriate type.
char *ptoChar; char csimpleChr = 'T'; char *chptr; // assignment chptr = &csimpleChr;
int iNumber = 20; int *imyPtr = &iNumber;
DERIVED (DATA) TYPES
type [integer] (an array)
integer size of type
Use to declare a variable with collection of identical properties or types. Simplify variable declaration. In a declaration which also initializes the array (including a function parameter declaration), the size of the array (the integer) can be omitted, which is called unsized. type [ ] is not the same as type*. Only under some circumstances one can be converted to the other.
int fstudentNumber[3] = {4,7,1}; int nrowandColumn[1][2] = {34, 21}; int nlongHeightWidth[3][4][5] = 0;
char cName1[ ] = {'a','r','r','a','y'}; char cName2[ ] = {"array"}; char cName3[6] = "array"; int nrowCol[2][3] = {4,2,3,7,2,8};
DERIVED (DATA) TYPES
type (commadelimited list of types/declarations) (a function pointers)
allow referencing functions with a particular signature. Function pointers are invoked by name just like normal function calls. Function pointers are separate from pointers and void pointers.
*/
/* two arguments function pointer int (* fptr) (int arg1, int arg2)
/* to store the address of the standard function stdFunct in the variable myIntFunct */ int (*myIntFunct)(int) = stdFunct;
