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C++ Data Types - Abdul Rehman

1. In C++, data types determine the type and size of variables. The fundamental data types are int, float, double, char, wchar_t, and bool. 2. int stores integers, float and double store decimals, char stores single characters, and wchar_t stores wide characters. bool stores true or false values. 3. Data types can be modified with keywords like long, short, signed, and unsigned to change their storage sizes and value ranges. This creates modified data types like long int, unsigned char, etc.

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9 views

C++ Data Types - Abdul Rehman

1. In C++, data types determine the type and size of variables. The fundamental data types are int, float, double, char, wchar_t, and bool. 2. int stores integers, float and double store decimals, char stores single characters, and wchar_t stores wide characters. bool stores true or false values. 3. Data types can be modified with keywords like long, short, signed, and unsigned to change their storage sizes and value ranges. This creates modified data types like long int, unsigned char, etc.

Uploaded by

abdulrrehman10
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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C++ Data Types

In C++, data types are declarations for variables. This determines the type and size of data associated with
variables. For example,

int age = 13;

Here, age is a variable of type int . Meaning, the variable can only store integers of either 2 or 4 bytes.

C++ Fundamental Data Types


The table below shows the fundamental data types, their meaning, and their sizes (in bytes):

Data Type Meaning Size (in Bytes)

int Integer 2 or 4

float Floating-point 4

double Double Floating-point 8

char Character 1
wchar_t Wide Character 2

bool Boolean 1

void Empty 0

Now, let us discuss these fundamental data types in more detail.

1. C++ int

The int keyword is used to indicate integers.

Its size is usually 4 bytes. Meaning, it can store values from -2147483648 to 2147483647.

For example,

int salary = 85000;

2. C++ float and double

float and double are used to store floating-point numbers (decimals and exponentials).

The size of float is 4 bytes and the size of double is 8 bytes. Hence, double has two times the precision
of float . To learn more, visit C++ float and double.

For example,
float area = 64.74;
double volume = 134.64534;

As mentioned above, these two data types are also used for exponentials. For example,

double distance = 45E12 // 45E12 is equal to 45*10^12

3. C++ char

Keyword char is used for characters.

Its size is 1 byte.

Characters in C++ are enclosed inside single quotes ' ' .

For example,

char test = 'h';

Note: In C++, an integer value is stored in a char variable rather than the character itself. To learn more, visit
C++ characters (https://www.programiz.com/cpp-programming/char-type).

4. C++ wchar_t

Wide character wchar_t is similar to the char data type, except its size is 2 bytes instead of 1.
It is used to represent characters that require more memory to represent them than a single char .

For example,

wchar_t test = L'‫'ם‬ // storing Hebrew character;

Notice the letter L before the quotation marks.

Note: There are also two other fixed-size character types char16_t and char32_t introduced in C++11.

5. C++ bool

The bool data type has one of two possible values: true or false .

Booleans are used in conditional statements and loops (which we will learn in later chapters).

For example,

bool cond = false;

6. C++ void

The void keyword indicates an absence of data. It means "nothing" or "no value".

We will use void when we learn about functions and pointers.


Note: We cannot declare variables of the void type.

C++ Type Modifiers


We can further modify some of the fundamental data types by using type modifiers. There are 4 type
modifiers in C++. They are:

1. signed

2. unsigned

3. short

4. long

We can modify the following data types with the above modifiers:

int

double

char

C++ Modified Data Types List

Size (in
Data Type Meaning
Bytes)

signed int 4 used for integers (equivalent to int )


unsigned int 4 can only store positive integers

short 2 used for small integers (range -32768 to 32767)

unsigned short 2 used for small positive integers (range 0 to 65,535)

long at least 4 used for large integers (equivalent to long int )

used for large positive integers or 0 (equivalent to unsigned


unsigned long 4
long int )

long long 8 used for very large integers (equivalent to long long int ).

unsigned long used for very large positive integers or 0 (equivalent to


8
long unsigned long long int )

long double 12 used for large floating-point numbers

signed char 1 used for characters (guaranteed range -127 to 127)

unsigned char 1 used for characters (range 0 to 255)

Let's see a few examples.

long b = 4523232;
long int c = 2345342;
long double d = 233434.56343;
short d = 3434233; // Error! out of range
unsigned int a = -5; // Error! can only store positive numbers or 0
Derived Data Types
Data types that are derived from fundamental data types are derived types. For example: arrays, pointers,
function types, structures, etc.

We will learn about these derived data types in later tutorials.

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