Write a C program to display all datatypes ranges in tabular form

In C programming, data types define the type and range of values that can be stored in variables. This program displays all fundamental data types with their minimum and maximum ranges in a tabular format using the limits.h header file.

Syntax

#include <limits.h>
#include <float.h>
// Use predefined constants like INT_MIN, INT_MAX, FLT_MIN, FLT_MAX

Primary Data Types

C supports four fundamental data types −

• Integer − Stores whole numbers (int, short, long)
• Character − Stores single characters (char)
• Floating-point − Stores decimal numbers (float)
• Double precision − Stores high-precision decimal numbers (double)

Data Type Ranges Summary

Example: Complete Data Type Range Display

Here's a comprehensive program that displays ranges for all C data types −

#include <stdio.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <float.h>

int main() {
    printf("=== C DATA TYPE RANGES ===<br><br>");
    
    printf("%-20s %-15s %-25s<br>", "DATA TYPE", "SIZE (bytes)", "RANGE");
    printf("%-20s %-15s %-25s<br>", "---------", "-----------", "-----");
    
    // Integer types
    printf("%-20s %-15d %d to %d<br>", "char", sizeof(char), CHAR_MIN, CHAR_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d 0 to %u<br>", "unsigned char", sizeof(unsigned char), UCHAR_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d %d to %d<br>", "short int", sizeof(short), SHRT_MIN, SHRT_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d 0 to %u<br>", "unsigned short", sizeof(unsigned short), USHRT_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d %d to %d<br>", "int", sizeof(int), INT_MIN, INT_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d 0 to %u<br>", "unsigned int", sizeof(unsigned int), UINT_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d %ld to %ld<br>", "long int", sizeof(long), LONG_MIN, LONG_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d 0 to %lu<br>", "unsigned long", sizeof(unsigned long), ULONG_MAX);
    
    // Floating-point types
    printf("%-20s %-15d %E to %E<br>", "float", sizeof(float), FLT_MIN, FLT_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d %E to %E<br>", "double", sizeof(double), DBL_MIN, DBL_MAX);
    printf("%-20s %-15d %LE to %LE<br>", "long double", sizeof(long double), LDBL_MIN, LDBL_MAX);
    
    return 0;
}

=== C DATA TYPE RANGES ===

DATA TYPE            SIZE (bytes)    RANGE
---------            -----------     -----
char                 1               -128 to 127
unsigned char        1               0 to 255
short int            2               -32768 to 32767
unsigned short       2               0 to 65535
int                  4               -2147483648 to 2147483647
unsigned int         4               0 to 4294967295
long int             8               -9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807
unsigned long        8               0 to 18446744073709551615
float                4               1.175494E-38 to 3.402823E+38
double               8               2.225074E-308 to 1.797693E+308
long double          16              3.362103E-4932 to 1.189731E+4932

Key Points

• The limits.h header provides constants for integer type limits
• The float.h header provides constants for floating-point type limits
• Signed types can store both positive and negative values
• Unsigned types can only store non-negative values but have a larger positive range
• Size may vary between different systems and compilers

Conclusion

Understanding data type ranges is crucial for choosing appropriate types for variables and avoiding overflow errors. The limits.h and float.h headers provide portable ways to access these ranges programmatically.