Beginning C# 3.0

3.1. Integer Data Types

An integer data type is any numeric value expressed as a whole number. Integer values cannot have a fractional component associated with them. If you try to assign a fractional value to an integer variable, C# truncates the value. For example, if val is an integer data type, the statement

val = 6.9999;

assigns the value of 6 to val. This means that integer operations do not round values. If an integer data type has a fractional value, C# simply throws away the fractional component.

Table 3-1 lists the various integer data types that you can use in your programs.

Table 3-1. Table 3-1

Type Specifier	Bits	Range	Data Suffix
byte	8	0 through 255
sbyte	8	−128 through 127
short	16	−32,768 through 32,767
ushort	16	0 through 65,535
int	32	−2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647
uint	32	0 through 4,294,967,295	U, u
long	64	−9,223,372,036,854,775,808 through 9,223,372,036,854,775,807	L, l
ulong	64	0 through 18,446,744,073,709,551,615	UL, ul

3.1.1. Range of Integer Data Types

Each of the integer data types has a range of values that it can accommodate. Consider the byte data type, which uses eight bits. A binary digit, or bit, is the smallest unit of computer storage and may assume the value of on (1) or off (0). This means that the most basic unit of information in a computer — the bit — only has two possible states: on and off. Because there are only two possible states, information is stored in a computer in a binary, or base-two, format. While you and I perform mathematic operations using ...