C Data Types
A data type is a classification that specifies which type of value a variable can store.
- We need to define data types of each variable during variable declaration.
- Each data types requires different amount of memory storage.
- The data type of a variable also determines that what kind of operation can be performed on variable data.
| Types | Data Types | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Basic data types | int, char, float, double |
| 2. | Derived data type | pointer, array, structure, union |
| 3. | Enumeration data type | enum |
| 4. | Void data type | void |
Format Specifier with different Data Types
Format specifier is used for input and output function. It tells what kind of value is going to store in a variable while taking input using the scanf() and display the output using printf(). Format specifiers are almost same for scanf() and printf() function.
for eg. %d, %c, %f
Note: While working with strings %s format specifier will be used.
C Data Types
C Language has some predefined set of data types to handle various kinds of data in any program. There are four basic data types that can be associated with variables in C.
Basic Data Type
The basic data types in C are integer (int), floating (float), character (char) and double. These are also called fundamental data types or primary data types.
The memory storage of basic data types can be different in 32 or 64-bit operating system.
Integer type
Integer data type allows a variable to store some range of mathematical numbers. Integer data types are declared using ‘int’ keyword. The storage size of integer data type can be 2, 4 or 8 byte. It mainly depends upon the processor in the CPU.
C language supports both signed and unsigned literals. Integers are able to store whole numbers only. Therefore, decimal values can not be stored in integers. Example of Integers are: 2, 50, 1000, 23954.
Types of integer type
| Type | Size | Range | Format Specifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| signed int / int | 4 byte | -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 | %d |
| unsigned int | 4 byte | 0 to 4,294,967,295 | %u |
| signed short int / short int | 2 byte | −32,768 to 32,767 | %hd |
| unsigned short int | 2 byte | 0 to 65,535 | %hu |
| signed long int / long int | 4 byte | -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 | %ld |
| unsigned long int | 4 byte | 0 to 4,294,967,295 | %lu |
| signed long long int / long long int | 8 byte | -(2^63) to (2^63)-1 | %lld |
| unsigned long long int | 8 byte | 0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,61 | %llu |
Floating Type
Float data type can store decimal values to a variable. Storage size of float data type is often 4 and it can vary depending upon the processor in the CPU. In float data type, we can use up-to 6 digits after decimal.
Floating type variables can hold real numbers such as: 1.5, -4.123, 20.0 etc.
Double
Double data type stores decimal values similar to float data type but it can store up-to 10 digits after decimal. The range for double datatype is from 1E–37 to 1E+37.
| Type | Storage | Value range | Decimal Points | Format Specifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| float | 4 byte | 1.2E-38 to 3.4E+38 | 6 decimal places | %f |
| double | 8 byte | 1.7E-308 to 1.7E+308 | 15 decimal places | %lf |
| long double | 16 byte | 3.4E-4932 to 1.1E+4932 | 19 decimal places | %Lf |
Character Type
Character data type is used to store only one character to a variable. ‘char’ keyword is used to define character data type in C programming. Storage size of character data type is 1.
Example of Char data types are: ‘a’,’b’,’x’,’y’.
Types of Character Type
| Type | Size | Range | Format Specifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| singed char | 1 byte | −128 to 127 | %c |
| unsigned char | 1 byte | 0 to 255 | %c |
Void Data type
Void data type mostly used to specify the type of functions & pointers. Void simply means empty or no value.
In C language, some functions do not return any value. We can use void data type for those functions as a return type. Example of void data type is: void mytask();
There are few more data type which we will cover in details. You can learn about them in next chapters.
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