[hulla]

Why is there a keyword signed if the creation of a built-in numeric data-type is automatically signed?

[darek9576]

Why is there keyword private if by default class members are private?

This post has been edited by darek9576: 06 September 2011 - 03:33 AM

[PlasticineGuy]

What Darek means by this is it exists to make it clearer if some data-type specifically needs to be signed or not.

[hulla]

private is there because it is easier to read your code but signed . . . Doesn't make much sense to me but ok.

This post has been edited by hulla: 06 September 2011 - 03:43 AM

[PlasticineGuy]

Well, let's say you have some variable which for whatever reasons must be signed. Let's say that Joe Random Programmer shows up a few days later and looks at your code and things "herp de doo, let's make it unsigned because it's too small". What happens? Crash. Why? Because you didn't make it clear that the variable had to be signed.

Joe Random Programmer can also be you, not always some other person when working in a group.

[hulla]

I would personally leave a comment or tell Joe Random to leave the keyboard in peace but it does make sense so thanks.

[PlasticineGuy]

I agree, but these systems all exist to allow people with preferred coding styles to code their own way. It's also possible you're compiling on some obscure system that might not necessarily default to signed.

[hulla]

Oh yeah the compiler might act up with it. True.

[MathiasVP]

signed can be used with char to define a signed char that ranges from -127 to 127.

[PlasticineGuy]

char also defaults to signed.

[GWatt]

As has already been pointed out, the default signed-ness [edit]of any type[/edit] is going to compiler dependent. When in doubt, specify. This is also why there are handy typedefs like uint8_t..uint64_t to help convey exactly the type wanted in a particular instance.

This post has been edited by GWatt: 06 September 2011 - 04:41 AM

[hulla]

Why is there a _t on the end?

[RudiVisser]

hulla, on 06 September 2011 - 12:46 PM, said:

Why is there a _t on the end?

_t is just a suffix for type, in the same way that MS use u as a prefix for unicode.

This is just naming conventions.

[Salem_c]

PlasticineGuy, on 06 September 2011 - 11:31 AM, said:

char also defaults to signed.

No it doesn't.
An unqualified char may be signed or unsigned (depending on the implementation).
Which is why gcc has -funsigned-char as an option.

[sepp2k]

GWatt, on 06 September 2011 - 01:40 PM, said:

As has already been pointed out, the default signed-ness [edit]of any type[/edit] is going to compiler dependent.

This is not true. The signedness of char is indeed unspecified, but shorts, ints, longs and long longs are all defined to be signed. That's also why limits.h defines both SCHAR_MIN/SCHAR_MAX and CHAR_MIN/CHAR_MAX, but doesn't do the same for any other type.