Thread: internal representation of signed/unsigned chars, ints

  1. #1
    Registered User
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    internal representation of signed/unsigned chars, ints

    If I run the following program:

    Code:
    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <stdlib.h>
    
    int main()
    {
        unsigned char c = -1;
        unsigned i = -1;
    
        printf("c: %d\n", c);
        printf("i: %d\n", i);
    
        return 0;
    }
    I get as output:

    c: 255
    i: -1

    I am assuming that on my machine (Pentium 4) a twos complement representation is used.

    An int is 4 bytes long, so I presume the constant -1 is represented internally as a signed integer 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111.

    I also presume that when the unsigned char c is set equal to -1, the eight bits of c are set equal to the 8 lowest order bits of the above signed integer constant, i.e. 11111111.

    This would be consistent with the value of 255 output for c.

    So what is going on with i????? I would have expected the same logic to apply and a value of 65535 to be output. Even if the above assumptions are incorrect (in particular I am not certain if -1 is stored as an signed int and whether it is true that a signed int is converted to an unsigned char simply by discarding the 3 highest order bytes), I can't see why printf should output a value of -1 for a variable that has been defined as unsigned.

    An suggestions would be most appreciated.

    Incidentally, if I try the same thing in C++

    Code:
    #include <iostream>
    
    using namespace std;
    
    int main()
    {
        unsigned i = -1;
        cout << "i: " << i << endl;
        
        return 0;
    }
    I get the output:

    i: 4294967295

    which is FFFFFFFF, or eight bytes with all bits set to 1. How you get that from a 4-byte unsigned int I cannot imagine.

  2. #2
    Kernel hacker
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    Do you think that [the code within printf that handles] %d knows if the number is unsigned or signed? Or perhaps that's why there is a %u to tell printf that it is an unsigned number?

    --
    Mats
    Compilers can produce warnings - make the compiler programmers happy: Use them!
    Please don't PM me for help - and no, I don't do help over instant messengers.

  3. #3
    Registered User
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    Whoops (blushes). Slight case of not seeing the wood for the trees. And FFFFFFFF is of course four bytes with all bits set to 1...

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