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Integer types

Learn int, short, long, long long and unsigned types.

Integer types

C has several integer types. The most common ones:

  • short: small integer (usually 2 bytes)
  • int: standard integer (usually 4 bytes)
  • long: large integer (usually 8 bytes)
  • unsigned: no sign; only zero and positive

The choice depends on how big a number you want to store. unsigned drops the negative side and doubles the positive side.

Type limits

Each integer type has minimum and maximum values it can store. The limits.h header defines these:

  • INT_MIN / INT_MAX: int bounds
  • LONG_MIN / LONG_MAX: long bounds

Exceeding the limit causes overflow and the result is undefined. Prefer long or long long when working with large numbers.

Practice Declare long and unsigned

Declare a long big = 1000000L; and an unsigned int count = 50;. Print big with printf using %ld.

Starter code

main.c
// declare long and unsigned int, print with printf

Sample solution

main.c
#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    long big = 1000000L;
    unsigned int count = 50;
    printf("%ld", big);
    return 0;
}

Expected output

1000000

Questions and answers

Review the lesson questions together with their answers. To test yourself, solve the lesson interactively.

1 Which is an integer type?

  • double
  • int Correct answer
  • char
  • void

Explanation: int stores integer values.

2 Unsigned declaration

Question 
unsigned ____ count = 100;
Answer 
unsigned int count = 100;

Explanation: unsigned int is used for non-negative integers.

3 Match type and size

Term Meaning
int 4 bytes
short 2 bytes
long 8 bytes
char 1 byte

All lessons in Beginner

1 C basics

  1. What is C?
  2. Your first program
  3. Compile and run
  4. Comments
  5. printf and escapes
  6. Summary - C basics

2 Variables

  1. Declaring variables
  2. Variable assignment
  3. const
  4. Variable scope
  5. typedef
  6. Summary - Variables

3 Data types

  1. Integer types
  2. Floating-point types
  3. char
  4. sizeof
  5. Type conversion
  6. Summary - Data types

4 Project: Calculator

  1. Project design
  2. Add and subtract
  3. Multiply and divide
  4. Menu loop
  5. Putting it together

5 Operators

  1. Arithmetic operators
  2. Assignment operators
  3. Comparison operators
  4. Logical operators
  5. Bitwise operators
  6. Summary - Operators

6 I/O

  1. printf formatting
  2. scanf
  3. Multiple inputs
  4. getchar and putchar
  5. puts and fputs
  6. Summary - I/O

7 Conditionals

  1. The if statement
  2. else and else if
  3. The switch statement
  4. The ternary operator
  5. Nested conditionals
  6. Summary - Conditionals

8 Loops

  1. The for loop
  2. The while loop
  3. The do-while loop
  4. break and continue
  5. Nested loops
  6. Summary - Loops

9 Project: Shopping cart

  1. Cart design
  2. Adding products
  3. Calculating totals
  4. Listing the cart
  5. Putting it together

10 Arrays

  1. Declaring arrays
  2. Array access
  3. Array size
  4. Multidimensional arrays
  5. Arrays and loops
  6. Summary - Arrays

11 Strings

  1. String basics
  2. String literals
  3. strlen
  4. strcpy and strcat
  5. strcmp
  6. Summary - Strings

12 Functions

  1. Defining functions
  2. Return values
  3. Parameters
  4. Function prototypes
  5. Recursion
  6. Summary - Functions

13 Pointer basics

  1. What is a pointer?
  2. The & address operator
  3. Pointer dereference
  4. NULL
  5. Pointer arithmetic
  6. Summary - Pointer basics

14 Arrays and pointers

  1. Array name as pointer
  2. Pointer to array
  3. Passing arrays to functions
  4. Pointer loop
  5. Multidim array pointer
  6. Summary - Arrays and pointers

15 Project: To-do CLI

  1. Task model
  2. Adding tasks
  3. Listing tasks
  4. Completing tasks
  5. Putting it together

16 String functions

  1. strchr
  2. strstr
  3. strtok
  4. sprintf
  5. sscanf
  6. Summary - String functions

17 Structs

  1. Defining structs
  2. Using structs
  3. typedef struct
  4. Array of structs
  5. Nested structs
  6. Summary - Structs

18 Memory and stack

  1. Stack and heap
  2. Automatic storage
  3. malloc
  4. free
  5. calloc and realloc
  6. Summary - Memory and stack

19 Preprocessor

  1. #define
  2. #include
  3. Conditional compilation
  4. Macro functions
  5. Header files
  6. Summary - Preprocessor

20 Beginner final

  1. Project design
  2. Data model
  3. Functions
  4. Memory management
  5. Putting it together