What are the ranges of basic datatype of C' programming languages?

Answer 1

Basic built-in data types in the C Programming language are scalar types in variations of char, int and float:

char, unsigned char, signed char

int, signed int, unsigned int, short, signed and unsigned short, long, signed and unsigned long

float, double

Named enumerations are supported. These are weakly typed constant literals of type int. Bitfields are supported as range-limited signed or unsigned integers. Neither qualify as a type in their own right.

Some dialects also support additional types, such as wide character, extra large integers or floating point scalars.

The language also knows a related keyword void, which is used to express the fact that the related item has no known or no specific type. void in itself is not a type (it is rather the absence of a type).

The C programming language also supports three basic aggregates: structure, union and arrays.

Pointers can reference any of the scalar built-ins, enumerations, structures, unions, arrays, and the infamous void. Pointers are viewed as a data type by many.

Other members of the C family of languages also support class and interface types and strongly typed enumerations.

Answer 2

The range of all fundamental types is compiler-dependant. The standard specifies that a char is always 1 byte in length and that a byte is at least 8 bits in length. This is because C source code is written using ASCII character codes which require at least 8-bits per byte. It is never safe to assume that all supported architectures use an 8-bit byte.

A char may be signed or unsigned depending on the compiler implementation. Some compilers will allow you to specify whether a char is signed or unsigned. As a result, a char is treated independent of the explicitly signed or unsigned char types. Thus there are three char types in total: char (often referred to as plain char), signed char and unsigned char. The standard states that all three will have the same length. As such, an unsigned char will have a range of at least 0 to 255 while a signed char will have a range of at least -127 to 127. The range of a plain char depends on whether it is signed or unsigned.

Note that the lower range of a signed char is -127, not -128 as might be expected. This is because ones-complement notation has two representations for the value zero, one positive, the other negative. -128 is only possible with twos-complement notation, but not all systems use twos-complement.

All other types are expressed in terms of a char, such that a short is always at least as long as a char, an int is always at least as long as a short, a long int is always at least as long as an int and a long long int is always at least as long as a long int. Use the sizeof() operator to determine the exact length (in bytes). The compiler will also provide constants in the C-standard library that define the length of a byte (in bits) as well as the upper and lower range of each type. Never make assumptions about the size or range. If you do, your code will not be portable.

Answer 3

Platform-dependent, but if consult your header limits.h,you will find out.

(eg: int's range is INT_MIN..INT_MAX)