Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.lang.c > #73704

Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference?

Show all headers | View raw

Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> writes:

> On 24/10/2015 16:05, Philipp Klaus Krause wrote:
>> Character constants are of type int, not char in the standard (ignoring
>> wide character constants, which might be of other types, such as char).
>> But in which situations does this make a real difference? The only one I
>> can think of now is generic selections.
>
> I was doing a test but came across something funny (probably just
> another quirk I wasn't aware of).
>
> Although 'A' has type int, it only apparently acquires type int after
> converting from type char.

No, there's no conversion (in the C language sense of the term) going on.

> Because if char is signed, then a value such as '£' (which is code 156
> on my machine, a UK pound sign), has the value -100 even though '£' is
> has type signed int which has enough range to represent it as 156.

It's much simpler to say that '£' is the int value -100.  It's not
converted from anything.  You could help the unwary out by explaining
*why* it makes sense to give '£' the int value -100 when char is a
signed type, but it confuses the issue to say that C converts anything
here.

<snip>
-- 
Ben.

Back to comp.lang.c | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Philipp Klaus Krause <pkk@spth.de> - 2015-10-24 17:05 +0200
  Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-10-24 16:55 +0100
  Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-10-24 15:59 +0000
  Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2015-10-24 17:16 +0100
    Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2015-10-24 12:41 -0400
    Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-10-24 17:50 +0100
    Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-10-24 13:05 -0700
      Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2015-10-24 22:09 +0100
        Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? Nobody <nobody@nowhere.invalid> - 2015-10-26 06:15 +0000
          Re: When does the type of a character constant make a difference? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-10-26 09:07 +0000

csiph-web