[c#] Can I convert long to int?

I want to convert long to int.

If the value of long > int.MaxValue, I am happy to let it wrap around.

What is the best way?

It can convert by

Convert.ToInt32 method

But it will throw an OverflowException if it the value is outside range of the Int32 Type. A basic test will show us how it works:

long[] numbers = { Int64.MinValue, -1, 0, 121, 340, Int64.MaxValue };
int result;
foreach (long number in numbers)
{
   try {
         result = Convert.ToInt32(number);
        Console.WriteLine("Converted the {0} value {1} to the {2} value {3}.",
                    number.GetType().Name, number,
                    result.GetType().Name, result);
     }
     catch (OverflowException) {
      Console.WriteLine("The {0} value {1} is outside the range of the Int32 type.",
                    number.GetType().Name, number);
     }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    The Int64 value -9223372036854775808 is outside the range of the Int32 type.
//    Converted the Int64 value -1 to the Int32 value -1.
//    Converted the Int64 value 0 to the Int32 value 0.
//    Converted the Int64 value 121 to the Int32 value 121.
//    Converted the Int64 value 340 to the Int32 value 340.
//    The Int64 value 9223372036854775807 is outside the range of the Int32 type.

Here there is a longer explanation.

Convert.ToInt32(myValue);

Though I don't know what it will do when it's greater than int.MaxValue.

Sometimes you're not actually interested in the actual value, but in its usage as checksum/hashcode. In this case, the built-in method GetHashCode() is a good choice:

int checkSumAsInt32 = checkSumAsIn64.GetHashCode();

Wouldn't

(int) Math.Min(Int32.MaxValue, longValue)

be the correct way, mathematically speaking?

The safe and fastest way is to use Bit Masking before cast...

int MyInt = (int) ( MyLong & 0xFFFFFFFF )

The Bit Mask ( 0xFFFFFFFF ) value will depend on the size of Int because Int size is dependent on machine.

The following solution will truncate to int.MinValue/int.MaxValue if the value is out of Integer bounds.

myLong < int.MinValue ? int.MinValue : (myLong > int.MaxValue ? int.MaxValue : (int)myLong)

A possible way is to use the modulo operator to only let the values stay in the int32 range, and then cast it to int.

var intValue= (int)(longValue % Int32.MaxValue);