Why do we use modifiers in C/C++?

A modifier is used to alter the meaning of the base type so that it works in accordance with your needs. For example, time cannot be negative and it makes sense to make it unsigned. C++ allows the char, int, and double data types to have modifiers preceding them. The data type modifiers are listed here −

• signed
• unsigned
• long
• short

The modifiers signed, unsigned, long, and short can be applied to integer base types. In addition, signed and unsigned can be applied to char, and long can be applied to double.

The modifiers signed and unsigned can also be used as a prefix too long or short modifiers. For example, unsigned long int.

C++ allows a shorthand notation for declaring unsigned, short, or long integers. You can simply use the word unsigned, short, or long, without the int. The int is implied. For example −

unsigned long a; // AND
unsigned long int a; // Are the same

Abhinaya

Published on 15-Feb-2018 07:33:57

• Related Questions & Answers
• Why do we use restrict qualifier in C++?
• Why do we use const qualifier in C++?
• Why do we use comma operator in C#?
• Why do we use internal keyword in C#?
• Why do we use a volatile qualifier in C++?
• Why do we use the params keyword in C#?
• Why do we use extern "C" in C++ code?
• Why cannot we specify access modifiers inside an interface in C#?
• Why do we use interfaces in Java?
• Why do we use random.seed() in Python?
• Why do we use pandas in python?
• Why do we assume strncpy insecure in C/C++?
• Why do we use jQuery over JavaScript?
• Why do we use JSON.stringify() method in jQuery?
• Why do we use DOCTYPES in HTML document?