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Data type specifiers and equivalents

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This documentation generally uses the forms of the type specifiers listed in the following table rather than the long forms. It also assumes that the char type is signed by default. Throughout this documentation, char is equivalent to signed char.

Type specifiers and equivalents

Type Specifier Equivalent(s)
signed char1 char
signed int signed, int
signed short int short, signed short
signed long int long, signed long
unsigned char —
unsigned int unsigned
unsigned short int unsigned short
unsigned long int unsigned long
float —
long double2 —

1 When you make the char type unsigned by default (by specifying the /J compiler option), you can't abbreviate signed char as char.

2 In 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems, the Microsoft C compiler maps long double to type double.

Microsoft specific

You can specify the /J compiler option to change the default char type from signed char to unsigned char. When this option is in effect, char means the same as unsigned char, and you must use the signed keyword to declare a signed character value. If a char value is explicitly declared signed, the /J option doesn't affect it, and the value is sign-extended when widened to an int type. The char type is zero-extended when widened to int type.

END Microsoft specific

See also

C Type Specifiers