C Integer Limits

Microsoft Specific —>

The limits for integer types are listed in Table 1.3. These limits are defined in the standard header file LIMITS.H. Microsoft C also permits the declaration of sized integer variables, which are integral types of size 8-, 16-, or 32-bits. For more information on sized integers, see Sized Integer Types.

Table 1.3   Limits on Integer Constants

Constant Meaning Value
CHAR_BIT Number of bits in the smallest variable that is not a bit field. 8
SCHAR_MIN Minimum value for a variable of type signed char. –128
SCHAR_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type signed char. 127
UCHAR_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type unsigned char. 255 (0xff)
CHAR_MIN Minimum value for a variable of type char. –128; 0 if /J option used
CHAR_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type char. 127; 255 if /J option used
MB_LEN_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a multicharacter constant. 2
SHRT_MIN Minimum value for a variable of type short. –32768
SHRT_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type short. 32767
USHRT_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type unsigned short. 65535 (0xffff)
INT_MIN Minimum value for a variable of type int. –2147483647 – 1
INT_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type int. 2147483647
UINT_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type unsigned int. 4294967295 (0xffffffff)
LONG_MIN Minimum value for a variable of type long. –2147483647 – 1
LONG_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type long. 2147483647
ULONG_MAX Maximum value for a variable of type unsigned long. 4294967295 (0xffffffff)

If a value exceeds the largest integer representation, the Microsoft compiler generates an error.

END Microsoft Specific