Maximum value for unsigned int? - c++

I wrote a program to find the last Fibonacci number using type unsigned int. It is 1836311903 but I thought the max values for an unsigned int is 65535. So what's going on?
while(true)
{
sequence[j] = sequence[j-1] + sequence[j-2];
if(sequence[j-1]>sequence[j]) break;
j++;
}
printf("%d", sequence[j-2]);

You are mistaken in your belief that max number for unsigned int is 65535. That hasn't been the case for most compilers since perhaps early days of windows 95 when we had 16-bit processors.
The standards do NOT define the size of any integral type; they only define the relationship of the sizes between one another. (long long >= long >= int >= short >= char... etc) The actual sizes though incredibly common and consistent are defined by the implementation of your compiler and thus are generally platform defined.
That not withstanding most int's use the size of a word on the processor; which today is often 32bits or 64bits.
You could verify 'why' yourself by taking sizeof(int); then raise 2 to that power subtract 1 and you've got your answer for max int...
A better way would be to #include <limits.h> or #include <climits> and use the values it defines.
In C++ you can use std::numeric_limits<unsigned int>::max() as well.

As shown in http://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_data_types.htm (and many other places), unsigned int can be 2 bytes or 4 bytes. In your case, you are using 4 bytes so the maximum is 4,294,967,295.
The maximum you mention, 65535 corresponds to 2 bytes.

The following code will give you the max value for an unsigned int on your system:
#include <stdio.h>
typedef unsigned int ui;
int main()
{
ui uimax = ~0;
printf("uimax %u\n",uimax);
return 0;
}
Int types only define the relationship between their sizes not their actual size e.g.
unsigned long long int >= unsigned long int >= unsigned int >= unsigned short int >= unsigned char

Related

long long int bit representation, C++ [duplicate]

I want to use the following code in my program but gcc won't allow me to left shift my 1 beyond 31.
sizeof(long int) displays 8, so doesn't that mean I can left shift till 63?
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main(){
long int x;
x=(~0 & ~(1<<63));
cout<<x<<endl;
return 0;
}
The compiling outputs the following warning:
left shift `count >= width` of type [enabled by default] `x=(~0 & ~(1<<63))`;
^
and the output is -1. Had I left shifted 31 bits I get 2147483647 as expected of int.
I am expecting all bits except the MSB to be turned on thus displaying the maximum value the datatype can hold.
Although your x is of type long int, the 1 is not. 1 is an int, so 1<<63 is indeed undefined.
Try (static_cast<long int>(1) << 63), or 1L << 63 as suggested by Wojtek.
You can't use 1 (int by default) to shift it beyond the int boundaries.
There's an easier way to get the "all bits except the MSB turned on" for a specific datatype
#include <iostream>
#include <limits>
using namespace std;
int main(){
unsigned long int max = std::numeric_limits<unsigned long int>::max();
unsigned long int max_without_MSB = max >> 1;
cout<< max_without_MSB <<endl;
return 0;
}
note the unsigned type. Without numeric_limits:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
long int max = -1;
unsigned long int max_without_MSB = ((unsigned long int)max) >> 1;
cout << max_without_MSB << endl;
return 0;
}
Your title is misleading; a long can shift beyond 31 bits if a long is indeed that big. However your code shifts 1, which is an int.
In C++, the type of an expression is determined by the expression itself. An expression XXXXX has the same type regardless; if you later go double foo = XXXXX; it doesn't mean XXXXX is a double - it means a conversion happens from whatever XXXXX was, to double.
If you want to left-shift a long, then do that explicitly, e.g. 1L << 32, or ((long)1) << 32. Note that the size of long varies between platforms, so if you don't want your code to break when run on a different system then you'll have to take further measures, such as using fixed-width types, or shifting by CHAR_BIT * sizeof(long) - 1.
There is another issue with your intended code: 1L << 63 causes undefined behaviour if long is 64-bit or less. This is because of signed integer overflow; left-shift is defined the same as repeated multiplication of two, so attempting to "shift into the sign bit" causes an overflow.
To fix this, use unsigned types where it is fine to shift into the MSB, e.g. 1ul << 63.
Technically there is another issue in that ~0 doesn't do what you want if you are not on a 2's complement system, but these days it's pretty safe to ignore that case.
Looking at your overall intention with long x = ~0 & ~(1 << 63). A shorter way to write this is:
long x = LONG_MAX;
which is defined by <climits>. If you wanted 64-bit on all platforms then
int64_t x = INT64_MAX;
NB. If you do not intend to work with negative values then use unsigned long x and uint64_t respectively.
First let me state a few things about the shift, which is the source of your problem:
There is no guarantee that long int is actually 64 bit wide.
The most generic way I can think of is using std::numeric_limits:
static_cast<long int>(1) << (std::numeric_limits<long int>::digits - 1);
Now you can even make that a constexpr templated function:
template <typename Integer>
constexpr Integer foo()
{
return static_cast<Integer>(1) << (std::numeric_limits<Integer>::digits - 1);
}
So replacing the shift with static_cast<long int>(1) << (std::numeric_limits<long int>::digits - 1) will fix your issue, however there is a far better way:
std::numeric_limits includes a bunch of useful stuff, including:
std::numeric_limits<T>::max(); // the maximum value T can hold
std::numeric_limits<T>::min(); // the minimum value T can hold
std::numeric_limits<T>::digits; // the number of binary digits
std::numeric_limits<T>::is_signed(); // well, do I have to explain? ;-)
See cppreference.com for a complete list. You should prefer the facilities provided by the standard library, because it will most likely have fewer mistakes and other developers immediately know it.
The default datatype for a numeric value in C is integer unless explicitly mentioned.
Here you have to type cast the 1 as long int which would otherwise be an int.

Looping through bytes of a long prints out the bytes twice on 64-bit systems [duplicate]

I want to use the following code in my program but gcc won't allow me to left shift my 1 beyond 31.
sizeof(long int) displays 8, so doesn't that mean I can left shift till 63?
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main(){
long int x;
x=(~0 & ~(1<<63));
cout<<x<<endl;
return 0;
}
The compiling outputs the following warning:
left shift `count >= width` of type [enabled by default] `x=(~0 & ~(1<<63))`;
^
and the output is -1. Had I left shifted 31 bits I get 2147483647 as expected of int.
I am expecting all bits except the MSB to be turned on thus displaying the maximum value the datatype can hold.
Although your x is of type long int, the 1 is not. 1 is an int, so 1<<63 is indeed undefined.
Try (static_cast<long int>(1) << 63), or 1L << 63 as suggested by Wojtek.
You can't use 1 (int by default) to shift it beyond the int boundaries.
There's an easier way to get the "all bits except the MSB turned on" for a specific datatype
#include <iostream>
#include <limits>
using namespace std;
int main(){
unsigned long int max = std::numeric_limits<unsigned long int>::max();
unsigned long int max_without_MSB = max >> 1;
cout<< max_without_MSB <<endl;
return 0;
}
note the unsigned type. Without numeric_limits:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
long int max = -1;
unsigned long int max_without_MSB = ((unsigned long int)max) >> 1;
cout << max_without_MSB << endl;
return 0;
}
Your title is misleading; a long can shift beyond 31 bits if a long is indeed that big. However your code shifts 1, which is an int.
In C++, the type of an expression is determined by the expression itself. An expression XXXXX has the same type regardless; if you later go double foo = XXXXX; it doesn't mean XXXXX is a double - it means a conversion happens from whatever XXXXX was, to double.
If you want to left-shift a long, then do that explicitly, e.g. 1L << 32, or ((long)1) << 32. Note that the size of long varies between platforms, so if you don't want your code to break when run on a different system then you'll have to take further measures, such as using fixed-width types, or shifting by CHAR_BIT * sizeof(long) - 1.
There is another issue with your intended code: 1L << 63 causes undefined behaviour if long is 64-bit or less. This is because of signed integer overflow; left-shift is defined the same as repeated multiplication of two, so attempting to "shift into the sign bit" causes an overflow.
To fix this, use unsigned types where it is fine to shift into the MSB, e.g. 1ul << 63.
Technically there is another issue in that ~0 doesn't do what you want if you are not on a 2's complement system, but these days it's pretty safe to ignore that case.
Looking at your overall intention with long x = ~0 & ~(1 << 63). A shorter way to write this is:
long x = LONG_MAX;
which is defined by <climits>. If you wanted 64-bit on all platforms then
int64_t x = INT64_MAX;
NB. If you do not intend to work with negative values then use unsigned long x and uint64_t respectively.
First let me state a few things about the shift, which is the source of your problem:
There is no guarantee that long int is actually 64 bit wide.
The most generic way I can think of is using std::numeric_limits:
static_cast<long int>(1) << (std::numeric_limits<long int>::digits - 1);
Now you can even make that a constexpr templated function:
template <typename Integer>
constexpr Integer foo()
{
return static_cast<Integer>(1) << (std::numeric_limits<Integer>::digits - 1);
}
So replacing the shift with static_cast<long int>(1) << (std::numeric_limits<long int>::digits - 1) will fix your issue, however there is a far better way:
std::numeric_limits includes a bunch of useful stuff, including:
std::numeric_limits<T>::max(); // the maximum value T can hold
std::numeric_limits<T>::min(); // the minimum value T can hold
std::numeric_limits<T>::digits; // the number of binary digits
std::numeric_limits<T>::is_signed(); // well, do I have to explain? ;-)
See cppreference.com for a complete list. You should prefer the facilities provided by the standard library, because it will most likely have fewer mistakes and other developers immediately know it.
The default datatype for a numeric value in C is integer unless explicitly mentioned.
Here you have to type cast the 1 as long int which would otherwise be an int.

Why doesn't this snippet of code print the number normally?

Why do I get two different results? Unsigned long is big enough to handle such number, and it can't be an overflow of some kind, right?
I am deliberately trying to make it show in decimal form, but it just doesn't work.
What could be the reason?
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void Print(unsigned long num)
{
cout<<dec<<num<<endl;
}
int main()
{
Print(9110865112);
cout<<dec<<9110865112;
return 0;
}
Edit
It outputs:
520930520
9110865112
unsigned long is not always sufficiently large. With 32 bits it can occupy integers from 0 up to and including 232-1, which is about four billions. 9'110'865'112 is nine billions and would thus not fit into unsigned long.
Try outputting sizeof unsigned long and see what you get.
Also, consider your output: 9110865112 mod 232 is 520930520, which basically proves that unsigned long is 32 bit large on your machine.
The problem is that the numeric literal that you specify is too large to fit in an unsigned long.
When you use the literal directly, the compiler treats it as long long, and chooses the proper overload for operator <<.
To fix this problem, use unsigned long long in the signature of the Print function:
void Print(unsigned long long num)
{
cout<<dec<<num<<endl;
}
Demo.
Because 9,110,865,112 is greater than 32 bits, the method is only accepting 32 of the bits even though you're trying to pass it more.
To fix this, you should use an unsigned long long data type for you num parameter. When you print it directly written as a constant, the code prints out find because the compiler says that constant is an unsigned long long, but when you pass it as an unsigned long, the compiler says that constant should be an unsigned long. Because it's not an unsigned long, it drops some of the bits. (I'm suprised your compiler didn't print out a warning.)
As a reference, an unsigned long can hold values between 0 and 4,294,967,295 (inclusive). Any value great than this should be assigned a larger data type. An unsigned long long can hold values between 0 and 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 (inclusive).
It is worth noting that frequently the data types uint32_t and uint64_t are used in place of unsigned long and unsigned long long respectively. The u denotes that the number is unsigned (if the u is left out, the number is assumed to be signed). The number (64 and 32 in this case) states how many bytes the number should have. And _t at the end just indicates that this is a data type. So (u)int#_t is a common way to write numeric data types; # can be 8, 16, 32, or 64 in standard C++ depending on the number of bits you need.
To summarize: You're throwing a number that's too large at the function. You need to change your function's parameters to support this number:
void Print(uint64_t num){
cout << dec << num << endl;
}

c bitfields strange behaviour with long int in struct

i am observing strange behaviour when i run the following code.
i create a bitfield by using a struct, where i want to use 52 bits, so i use long int.
The size of long int is 64 bits on my system, i check it inside the code.
Somehow when i try to set one bit, it alwas sets two bits. one of them is the one i wanted to set and the second one is the index of the first one plus 32.
Cann anybody tell me, why is that?
#include <stdio.h>
typedef struct foo {
long int x:52;
long int:12;
};
int main(){
struct foo test;
int index=0;
printf("%ld\n",sizeof(test));
while(index<64){
if(test.x & (1<<index))
printf("%i\n",index);
index++;
}
test.x=1;
index=0;
while(index<64){
if(test.x & (1<<index))
printf("%i\n",index);
index++;
}
return 0;
}
Sry forgot to post the output, so my question was basicly not understandable...
The Output it gives me is the following:
8
0
32
index is of type int, which is probably 32 bits on your system. Shifting a value by an amount greater than or equal to the number of bits in its type has undefined behavior.
Change index to unsigned long (bit-shifting signed types is ill-advised). Or you can change 1<<index to 1L << index, or even 1LL << index.
As others have pointed out, test is uninitialized. You can initialize it to all zeros like this:
struct foo test = { 0 };
The correct printf format for size_t is %zu, not %ld.
And it wouldn't be a bad idea to modify your code so it doesn't depend on the non-portable assumption that long is 64 bits. It can be as narrow as 32 bits. Consider using the uint_N_t types defined in <stdint.h>.
I should also mention that bit fields of types other than int, unsigned int, signed int, and _Bool (or bool) are implementation-defined.
You have undefined behavior in your code, as you check the bits in text.x without initializing the structure. Because you don't initialize the variable, it will contain random data.

converting from size_t to unsigned int

Is it possible that converting from size_t to unsigned int result in overflow .
size_t x = foo ( ) ; // foo ( ) returns a value in type size_t
unsigned int ux = (unsigned int ) x ;
ux == x // Is result of that line always 1 ?
language : c++
platform : any
Yes it's possible, size_t and int don't necessarily have the same size. It's actually very common to have 64bit size_ts and 32bit ints.
C++11 draft N3290 says this in ยง18.2/6:
The type size_t is an implementation-defined unsigned integer type that is large enough to contain the size in bytes of any object.
unsigned int on the other hand is only required to be able to store values from 0 to UINT_MAX (defined in <climits> and following the C standard header <limits.h>) which is only guaranteed to be at least 65535 (216-1).
Yes, overflow can occur on some platforms. For example, size_t can be defined as unsigned long, which can easily be bigger than unsigned int.