I came across the data type int32_t
in a C program recently. I know that it stores 32 bits, but don't int
and int32
do the same?
Also, I want to use char
in a program. Can I use int8_t
instead? What is the difference?
To summarize: what is the difference between int32, int, int32_t, int8 and int8_t in C?
This question is related to
c
int
declaration
Always keep in mind that 'size' is variable if not explicitly specified so if you declare
int i = 10;
On some systems it may result in 16-bit integer by compiler and on some others it may result in 32-bit integer (or 64-bit integer on newer systems).
In embedded environments this may end up in weird results (especially while handling memory mapped I/O or may be consider a simple array situation), so it is highly recommended to specify fixed size variables. In legacy systems you may come across
typedef short INT16;
typedef int INT32;
typedef long INT64;
Starting from C99, the designers added stdint.h header file that essentially leverages similar typedefs.
On a windows based system, you may see entries in stdin.h header file as
typedef signed char int8_t;
typedef signed short int16_t;
typedef signed int int32_t;
typedef unsigned char uint8_t;
There is quite more to that like minimum width integer or exact width integer types, I think it is not a bad thing to explore stdint.h for a better understanding.
The _t data types are typedef types in the stdint.h header, while int is an in built fundamental data type. This make the _t available only if stdint.h exists. int on the other hand is guaranteed to exist.
Source: Stackoverflow.com